ul-
(Latin: ulos, "tail")
adulate (verb), adulates; adulated; adulating
To show excess devotion to someone or to express obsequious admiration by making a big fuss about the person: Sam was overdoing it when he adulated on and on about his supervisor during the business meeting.
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1. Excessive flattery, praise, or admiration beyond the normal manner, especially when done in a servile way: In hopes of getting a substantial raise, Manfred sent his boss a fawning e-mail filled with adulations and an invitation to go for a coffee break together.
2. Abject adoration or great admiration and praise: The critic expressed her adulation and enthusiasm in the local newspaper regarding the dramatic production at the local theater the weekend before.
3. Etymology: from Latin adulationem and adulatio, "a fawning; great flattery", a noun of action from aduliari, "to gratify the vanity of"; from ad-, "to" + ulos, "tail".
© ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
2. Abject adoration or great admiration and praise: The critic expressed her adulation and enthusiasm in the local newspaper regarding the dramatic production at the local theater the weekend before.
3. Etymology: from Latin adulationem and adulatio, "a fawning; great flattery", a noun of action from aduliari, "to gratify the vanity of"; from ad-, "to" + ulos, "tail".
If you were to imagine a dog wagging its tail to get a treat or to show a lot of friendly behavior, you're thinking is correct. Adulation is considered to be one of the more doglike characteristics of human behavior.
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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A person who uses flattery and clichés or superficial compliments in order to please another person or a group of people: After an adulator introduced a politician with many complimentary words of praise, the candidate stood up and told the audience that after hearing so many wonderful things about his person, he could hardly wait to hear himself start his speech!
adulatory (adjective), more adulatory, most adulatory
Descriptive of a tendency to insincerely praise someone with flattery and being excessively willing to do almost anything to please that person: Often when foreign officials meet, there is a tendency to exchange adulatory comments that are full of platitudes or overused words and feigned or false praise.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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