Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One who conforms to the prevailing ways and opinions of one's time or condition for personal advantage; an opportunist.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who acts conformably to times and seasons: now generally applied to one who meanly and for selfish ends adapts his opinions and manners to the times; one who panders to the ruling power.
- n. Synonyms See definitions of temporizer and trimmer.
Wiktionary
- n. A person who conforms to current opinions, especially for reasons of personal advantage; an opportunist.
- n. computing A device, node or program that distributes the correct time to clients in a network.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One who adapts his opinions and manners to the times; one who obsequiously compiles with the ruling power; -- now used only in a bad sense.
WordNet 3.0
- n. one who conforms to current ways and opinions for personal advantage
Etymologies
- time + server (Wiktionary)
Examples
“I suspect your label “Vichy policeman” is code for “timeserver”.”
“It would be unfair to say that Göran Kummel is a conscious timeserver.”
“Everyone knows Powell for what he is: a pothunting timeserver.”
“By the very high and the very low, — by those rather who regarded ritualism as being either heavenly or devilish, — he was looked upon as a timeserver, because he would not put to sea in either of those boats.”
“All premised on the the entirely lunatic notion that the removal of just one more high profile timeserver will somehow usher in the reign of the Godly in the Commonwealth.”
“In "Prince of Darkness," Powers introduces us to the inner life of Father Ernest Burner, an entirely mediocre timeserver, a glutton, a cynic, adolescent in his desire to be on the opposite side of whatever position is taken by the younger curate.”
“Seth Ward taught mathematics, already noted as an astronomer, and hereafter to be less honourably noted as so supple a timeserver, that, “amid all the changes of the times he never broke his bones.””
“Cassiodorus may seem a timeserver, but his tenacity was based on a constructive, optimistic view of Ostrogothic rule.”
“There, in spite of eloquence and fervor and devotion, in spite of all his past vows and his hopes, he had decided to take the place and part of a timeserver; -- for he feared disgrace and pain, and the hissing and scoff and persecution, more than he feared the blasting anger of insulted and forsaken Truth.”
“He scorned the ways of the demagogue and the timeserver, and believed that "men should be what they seem.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘timeserver’.
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Gapeseeds and Muckworms - Compound De...
A list of compound derogatory names such as gapeseed, muckworm and lickspittle. Your one-word contributions to this list are welcome.
See sionnach's list derogatory terms I should use ...gapeseed, muckworm, lickspittle, makeweight, bootlicker, backscratcher, apple-polisher, backslapper, brownnoser, rakeshame, yesman, freeloader and 293 more...
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