| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | groveling, submissive |
| Synonyms: | abject, beggarly, brownnosing, complacent, compliable, compliant, cringing, crouching, deferential, enslaved, fawning, flattering, ingratiating, kowtowing, menial, obeisant, oily, parasitic, parasitical, prostrate, respectful, servile, slavish, sneaking, sniveling, spineless, stipendiary, subject, submissive, subordinate, subservient, sycophantic, toadying, unctuous |
| Antonyms: | arrogant, assertive, brazen, confident, presumptuous |
| Main Entry: | deferential |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | respectful, considerate |
| Synonyms: | civil, complaisant, courteous, disarming, duteous, dutiful, ingratiating, ingratiatory, insinuating, insinuative, obedient, obeisant, obsequious, polite, regardful, reverential, saccharine, silken, silky, submissive |
| Notes: | deferential means showing courteous expression of regard or respect; difference is the quality of being unlike or dissimilar; differential means relating to or showing a difference or the quality of the difference between similar things |
| Antonyms: | arrogant, disobedient, disrespectful, immodest, impolite, inconsiderate, noncompliant |
| Main Entry: | fawning |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | deferential, groveling |
| Synonyms: | abject, adulatory, bootlicking, bowing, brownnosing, compliant, cowering, crawling, cringing, flattering, humble, ingratiating, kowtowing, mealy-mouthed, obsequious, parasitic, prostrate, scraping, servile, slavish, sniveling, spineless, submissive, subservient, sycophant, sycophantic |
| Antonyms: | aloof, cool, disinterested, proud, unfriendly |
| Main Entry: | humble |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | meek, unassuming |
| Synonyms: | apprehensive, backward, bashful, biddable, blushing, content, courteous, deferential, demure, diffident, docile, fearful, gentle, hesitant, lowly, manageable, mild, modest, obliging, obsequious, ordinary, polite, quiet, reserved, respectful, retiring, reverential, sedate, self-conscious, self-effacing, servile, sheepish, shy, simple, soft-spoken, standoffish, submissive, subservient, supplicatory, tentative, timid, timorous, tractable, unambitious, unobtrusive, unostentatious, unpretentious, withdrawn |
| Antonyms: | assertive, boasting, brave, conceited, egotistical, insolent, pretentious, proud, showy |
| Main Entry: | ingratiating |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fawning, servile |
| Synonyms: | charming, crawling, deferential, disarming, flattering, humble, insinuating, obsequious, saccharine, serving, silken, smarmy, soft, sycophantic, toadying, unctuous |
| Antonyms: | deterring, disgusting, repellent |
| Main Entry: | lowly |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | inferior, plain |
| Synonyms: | average, base, baseborn, cast down, common, commonplace, docile, dutiful, everyday, gentle, humble, ignoble, low, lowborn, mean, meek, menial, mild, modest, mundane, obscure, obsequious, ordinary, plebeian, poor, proletarian, prosaic, retiring, reverential, servile, simple, submissive, subordinate, unassuming, unpretentious, withdrawing |
| Antonyms: | higher, lofty, noble, pretentious, superior |
| Main Entry: | menial |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | lowly, low-status |
| Synonyms: | abject, base, baseborn, boring, common, degrading, demeaning, dull, fawning, grovelling, humble, humdrum, ignoble, ignominious, low, mean, obeisant, obsequious, routine, servile, slavish, sorry, subservient, sycophantic, unskilled, vile |
| Antonyms: | elevated, skilled, superior, talented |
| Main Entry: | oily |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | flattering |
| Synonyms: | bland*, cajoling, coaxing, compliant, fulsome, glib, gushing, hypocritical, ingratiating, insinuating, obsequious, plausible, servile, slick, smarmy, smooth, smooth-tongued, suave, supple, unctuous |
| Antonyms: | hateful |
| Main Entry: | polite |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | mannerly, civilized |
| Synonyms: | affable, amenable, amiable, attentive, bland, civil, complaisant, concerned, conciliatory, condescending, considerate, cordial, courteous, courtly, cultured, deferential, diplomatic, elegant, friendly, genteel, gentle, good-natured, gracious, mild, neighborly, nice, obliging, obsequious, pleasant, polished, politic, punctilious, refined, respectful, smooth, sociable, solicitous, sympathetic, thoughtful, urbane, well-behaved, well-bred, well-mannered |
| Antonyms: | impolite, rude, uncivil, uncivilized, unmannerly, unrefined, unsophisticated |