Standard Lemma guide

toadyism

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • UK: /ˈtəʊdi.ɪzəm/
  • General-American: /ˈtoʊdi.ɪzəm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Sycophancy; fawning, obsequious behavior.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English toady Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English toadyism From toady + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 奉承 (fèngchéng) — obsequious behavior
  • Chinese Mandarin: 拍馬屁 /拍马屁 (pāi mǎpì) — obsequious behavior
  • Finnish: imartelu — obsequious behavior
  • Finnish: mielistely — obsequious behavior
  • French: flagornerie — obsequious behavior
  • German: Kriechertum — obsequious behavior
  • German: Untertänigkeit — obsequious behavior
  • Russian: подхалима́ж (podxalimáž) — obsequious behavior
  • Russian: раболе́пие (rabolépije) — obsequious behavior
  • Russian: лизоблюдство (lizobljudstvo) — obsequious behavior