obsequious
/əbˈsiːkwi.əs/adjective
obsequious is spelled O-B-S-E-Q-U-I-O-U-S: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 80,453rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, obsequious means “Excessively eager and attentive to please or to obey instructions; fawning, subservient, servile” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in obsequious?
| Letters | 10: O-B-S-E-Q-U-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 80,453rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is obsequious?
Obsequious appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 80,453rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obsequious?
- US /əbˈsiːkwi.əs/
Obsequious has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-obsequious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of obsequious
- more obsequious comparative
- most obsequious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obsequious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Excessively eager and attentive to please or to obey instructions; fawning, subservient, servile.
- 2
archaicObedient; compliant with someone else's orders or wishes.
- 3
obsoleteOf or pertaining to obsequies, funereal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obsequious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | obéissant, obséquieux , soumis |
| German | gehorsam, folgsam, unterwürfig , hörig, servil |
| Portuguese | obsequioso , submisso |
| Spanish | servil, apatronado, obsequioso , sumiso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obsequious come from?
From Middle English obsequyous, from Latin obsequiōsus (“complaisant, obsequious”), from obsequium (“compliance”), from obsequor (“comply with, yield to”), from ob (“in the direction of, towards”) + sequor (“follow”) (cf. sequel).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).