bootlickers

Servile yes-men types

Bootlickers are people who behave obsequiously toward those in power, seeking favor through excessive flattery and compliance.

The term is contemptuous—it suggests someone so eager to please authority that they would literally lick boots clean: The boss surrounded himself with bootlickers who never challenged his ideas.

The singular bootlicker and verb bootlick follow the same pattern.

traits

servile

Excessively submissive, lacking independence

obsequiousServilely attentive to superiors
submissiveReadily yielding to control
deferentialShowing humble submission

unctuous · smarmy · spineless · cringing · meek · compliant · subservient · slavish · sniveling · cowardly

behavior

fawning

Excessive insincere flattery

grovelingDemeaning self-abasement before another
kowtowingSubmissive display of respect
toadyingObsequious behavior seeking favor

flattering · pandering · obsequiousness · sycophancy · brown-nosing · currying favor · sucking up · ingratiating · genuflecting · bowing

sycophants

toady

Obsequious flatterer seeking favor

yes-manUncritical agreeable subordinate
flunkeyServile attendant or follower
lackeyServile follower or minion

minion · fawner · stooge · puppet · henchman · doormat · lapdog · suck-up · crawler · lickspittle

bootlickers

servile

fawning

toady

bootlickers

Opposites

Categories

Family