A person who behaves in an obsequious way to gain favor from someone important or influential.
Mark always praised the boss loudly at every meeting, hoping for a promotion. Everyone knew he was a toady, only pretending to care about the boss's ideas so he could get special treatment. It made some people feel annoyed, but Mark never seemed to notice.
Mark always told the manager her ideas were brilliant, even the terrible ones. He laughed loudly at all her jokes and brought her coffee every morning. Everyone else on the team just saw a toady, someone whose constant praise was only a cheap attempt to get a promotion.
Marcus always agreed with the boss, laughing at his jokes and praising every decision. The other workers saw him as a toady, constantly flattering their manager to get the promotion. Nobody respected someone who abandoned their dignity just to climb higher.
Everyone at the office knew Gary was a toady, always agreeing with the boss’s terrible jokes—even the one about the chicken and the stapler. He smiled so much, people wondered if his face was stuck. Some say he would compliment a banana if it meant a promotion.
"Your new haircut is magnificent, sir! It has the wisdom of an owl and the power of a lion!" proclaimed Timothy. We all knew the boss's hair looked like a startled bird, but Timothy was a shameless toady, clearly hoping to get the last donut from the breakroom.
At the office, Mark was known as the boss's favorite toady. He constantly showered the boss with compliments and laughter, hoping to gain promotions and perks in return. His colleagues often rolled their eyes at his shameless flattery.
Professor Cartwright was fuming. He finally had definitive proof that his colleague, Dr. Williamson, had been cheating. However, before he could confront Dr. Williamson, he had to deal with his toady, Dr. Finchley. Finchley was always obsequiously agreeing with Williamson and showering him with unearned praise. Cartwright knew that if he let Finchley get his hands on the evidence, Finchley would immediately run to Williamson and warn him. And that could ruin everything.
The toady slithered into the darkened room, his oily smile sending shivers down my spine. He whispered sweet nothings in my ear, his words dripping with insincerity. I could see the hunger in his eyes, the desperate need to please me at any cost. But beneath his fawning facade lurked a dangerous predator, ready to strike at the first sign of weakness. I knew I had to be careful around this toady, for his loyalty was as shallow as his flattery. In the end, I would have to watch my back, for a toady's allegiance was never to be trusted.
The king's advisor, a cunning toady, whispered a vile scheme. He suggested the king seize the land of the poor farmers, promising it would amass the king's wealth. The king listened intently, his eyes glinting with greed. The farmers' pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears, drowned out by the toady's deceptive words.
In the kingdom of Eldoria, the royal court was filled with toadies who constantly showered the queen with compliments and praises. They would grovel at her feet, hoping to gain favor and climb the social ladder. One particularly slimy toady named Grumblewort would go to extreme lengths to please the queen, even resorting to deceit and treachery. Despite his sycophantic ways, the queen saw through his fake smiles and empty flattery. She knew that true loyalty could not be bought with insincere words and false promises. And so, the toadies remained at the bottom of the social hierarchy, forever grasping for favor that would never come.
Whenever Mr. Thompson entered the room, it was clear who the toady was. Greg always praised the boss’s jokes and agreed with every opinion, hoping for a promotion. His constant flattery and eagerness to please made everyone else roll their eyes.
He was a complete toady, showering the director with false compliments on his leadership. Everyone knew this excessive praise was just a transparent attempt to get a favorable review and a raise, and it made the entire department feel uncomfortable watching his efforts.
Marcus grew tired of the new intern who laughed too loudly at every joke the boss made and volunteered for her personal errands. Everyone knew this toady would do anything for a promotion, no matter how humiliating. His constant flattery made staff meetings unbearable.
As soon as the boss entered the room, Gerald transformed into a toady, gushing over her new haircut with the enthusiasm of a poodle begging for treats, all while the rest of us wondered if brown-nosing would soon become an Olympic sport.
When the CEO suggested replacing office chairs with live badgers, everyone was horrified. Everyone except Bartholomew, the office toady, who immediately praised the "bold, ergonomic innovation." He was clearly hoping his flattery would finally land him that coveted corner office with the functional window.
Whenever the manager entered the room, Philip transformed into a toady, offering insincere compliments and nodding eagerly at every suggestion. His transparent attempts to curry favor irritated his coworkers, who resented how often flattery seemed to earn him special privileges.
His fulsome praise for the director’s vapid new proposal was nauseating. He would laud any inane idea she proffered, desperate for her approbation. The whole department knew him as a contemptible toady, constantly angling for a promotion he could never earn through genuine merit.
Marcus watched his colleague praise the director's terrible idea with exaggerated enthusiasm, nodding vigorously at every inane comment. The toady had been angling for a promotion for months, and his obsequious behavior made everyone in the office uncomfortable. Still, it seemed to be working: the director beamed at him approvingly.
At the company picnic, Reginald, an inveterate toady, inflated the CEO’s mediocre potato salad into a culinary revelation, waxing lyrical about “nuanced tuber undertones” while the rest of us grimaced through each gluey bite, marveling at how sycophancy could defy both taste buds and basic dignity.
The CEO’s idea for a pug-themed perfume was patently absurd. Yet, there was Reginald, that quintessential toady, vociferously lauding its "preternatural bouquet" and "capacious market appeal," clearly angling for a promotion with his unctuous praise for a scent redolent of damp fur.
Advanced — Less frequent words that stretch an upper-level vocabulary.