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swarmy

swarmy

1 9.5
Too polite or friendly in a way that does not seem sincere
  • adjective
  • /ˈswɔrmi/
translation icon : lisonjero
  • The politician's swarmy rhetoric failed to convince the skeptical audience.

Examples

  • Nelson gets the dig and looks over at him with his dark swarmy eyes, a little flat across the top, like a cross cat's.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Oh, you're so swarmy, you're so smarmy, you're so stinky, you're so sexy.

  • His swarmy compliments made everyone uncomfortable at the party.

  • She gave a swarmy smile that seemed insincere during the presentation.

Synonyms

ingratiating
vsswarmy
1 7.3

Pretending to be friendly to make someone like you

emphasizes an overly smooth flattering style instead of focused favor seeking
toadyish
vsswarmy
9.9

Being too friendly and praising someone important to get favor

is a general smooth flattering manner not limited to authority figures

Antonyms

156 3.2

Truly felt and not fake, for example a smile or apology

20 5.8

A person or thing that is not proud and not showy

How Insincere

obsequious
  • Formal
7 9.3
swarmy
1 9.5
ingratiating
1 7.3
flattering
57 4.2
courteous
43 3.7

Surface Forms

swarmy positive

Etymology

Swarmy comes from the common word swarm ('a large moving group') plus the ending -y ('full of'), so it suggested being like a 'swarm' of attention. A helpful image is a person surrounded by a 'swarm of compliments'—too many and often not sincere—which is why swarmy means overly flattering or insincere.