Adulating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. This term describes the action of offering exaggerated praise or flattery towards an individual, often lacking sincerity
2. This term refers to the practice of excessively praising someone, often to an insincere degree that reflects a lack of genuine admiration
3. It denotes the act of showering someone with praise or compliments, typically in a manner that is overly flattering and not heartfelt

Etymology: "Adulating" is the present participle of "adulate," so its history is that of the verb itself. "Adulate" is a learned borrowing from Latin "adūlor," which meant to fawn upon or flatter, and which came from the ancient practice of wagging the tail like a dog. That physical image sits behind the English word's sense of excessive, insincere praise, though the Latin verb's connection to fawning dogs is a matter of its wider background rather than something the English form records. Because the English verb was formed directly from its Latin source rather than arriving through everyday speech, it has a deliberately bookish flavour. The participle "adulating" simply carries that sense of groveling praise into ongoing action, as in describing a crowd still flattering a politician.

Synonyms: flattering, praising, fawning

Antonyms: criticizing, denigrating