Dictionary

Heepish en · ADJ

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. Exhibiting cloying, insincere obsequiousness.
   • 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. ..." 2004, Reginald Hill, Good Morning, Midnight, HarperCollins:
   • As an interviewer, i quickly grasped that the key was to ingratiate myself with the subject, to be admiring, even humble, but not Heepish. 2014, Siri Hustvedt, The Blazing World, Simon and Schuster, page 40:
   • 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. 2001, Nicholas Peel, The Lost Story, iUniverse, page 130:
   • 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. 1863 Jan, “Editor's Table”, in The Continental Monthly, volume III, number 1, page 127:

Forms

Deriveds

Heepishness · Heepishly

wikipedia: Uriah Heep