Obsequious

adjective

/əbˈsiːkwiəs/

Excessively eager to please, obey, or flatter a superior; fawning and servile to a degree that signals a loss of independent judgment. It carries a pejorative connotation of insincere subservience rather than genuine respect.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

A robust democracy demands a permanent civil service that tenders frank, evidence-based advice to its political masters, not an obsequious bureaucracy that merely echoes the preferences of whoever holds power.

Synonyms

servilesycophanticfawningingratiatingsubservientunctuous

Antonyms

assertivedefiantdomineeringdignified

🌱 Word Family

obsequiously (adv.), obsequiousness (n.), obsequy (n.), obsequies (n. pl.)

🔡 Root

Latin ob- = toward + sequi = to follow; obsequium = compliance; obsequiosus = compliant

📜 Etymology

From Latin obsequiosus, from obsequium "compliance," from obsequi "to comply, follow," from ob- "toward" + sequi "to follow." Entered Middle English (c. 1447) originally meaning "dutiful, attentive," later acquiring its negative sense of servility.

🧠 Memory Hook

Root link: 'ob- + sequi' = "to follow after" — an obsequious courtier follows his master everywhere, bowing and scraping. Think "OBEY + SEQUENCE": one who obediently follows every command in sequence.

🏛️ Governance 📖 Seen in: Governance, Transparency & Accountabil...

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