Heepish

English

Etymology

From Heep +‎ -ish: From the Dickens character Uriah Heep, noted for his cloying humility, obsequiousness, and insincerity, the stereotypical yes man.

Adjective

Heepish (comparative more Heepish, superlative most Heepish)

Exhibiting cloying, insincere obsequiousness.
- 1863 Jan, “Editor's Table”, in The Continental Monthly, volume III, number 1, page 127:
  The London Times will, we presume, impugn the motives of the charity—call it Pecksniffian and Heep-ish—or possibly try to prove that the Federals had no hand in the good deed.
- 2001, Nicholas Peel, The Lost Story, iUniverse, page 130:
  The two functionaries were all oleaginous smiles and Heepish hand-wringing declaring their eagerness to be of service to such a fine and deserving young person.
- 2004, Reginald Hill, Good Morning, Midnight‎^[1], HarperCollins:
  Dalziel scratched his crotch reflectively, then replied in a fawning Heepish tone, “I'm sorry, Mrs Maciver, I know what you must be feeling, but it's not my decision. ..."
- 2014, Siri Hustvedt, The Blazing World, Simon and Schuster, page 40:
  As an interviewer, i quickly grasped that the key was to ingratiate myself with the subject, to be admiring, even humble, but not Heepish.