Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who conforms to the prevailing ways and opinions of one's time or condition for personal advantage; an opportunist.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun 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.
- noun Synonyms See definitions of temporizer and trimmer.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun 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.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A person who
conforms to currentopinions , especially for reasons ofpersonal advantage ; anopportunist . - noun computing A
device , node or program thatdistributes the correcttime toclients in anetwork .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun one who conforms to current ways and opinions for personal advantage
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I suspect your label “Vichy policeman” is code for “timeserver”.
An Ex Traffic Biker Writes: « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2008
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It would be unfair to say that Göran Kummel is a conscious timeserver.
Archive 2009-08-01 David McDuff 2009
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Everyone knows Powell for what he is: a pothunting timeserver.
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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.
The Way We Live Now 2004
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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.
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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.
The Priestly Comedy of J. F. Powers Gordon, Mary 1982
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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.”
Life of Dr Owen 1965
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Cassiodorus may seem a timeserver, but his tenacity was based on a constructive, optimistic view of Ostrogothic rule.
The Early Middle Ages 500-1000 Robert Brentano 1964
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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.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 35, September, 1860 Various
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He scorned the ways of the demagogue and the timeserver, and believed that "men should be what they seem."
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