as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
you can try kowtowing to the boss, but he'll see right through you
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Recent Examples of kowtow
This includes his daughter, Tal, who has a hard time dealing with her father’s refusal to kowtow to politicians.
—
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2025
Amazon, and all of its attendant properties, is owned by Jeff Bezos, who has proven in recent months to have no issue kowtowing to authoritarians for the sake of his bottom line.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 20 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, other sources have pointed to the belief that Johnson’s background in progressive organizing repels him from anything that looks like kowtowing.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2025
So a Muslim in a hijab attacks a trans performer who identifies as a woman yet doesn’t kowtow to all the liberal pieties.
—Armond White, National Review, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kowtow
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2025
Amazon, and all of its attendant properties, is owned by Jeff Bezos, who has proven in recent months to have no issue kowtowing to authoritarians for the sake of his bottom line.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 20 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, other sources have pointed to the belief that Johnson’s background in progressive organizing repels him from anything that looks like kowtowing.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2025
So a Muslim in a hijab attacks a trans performer who identifies as a woman yet doesn’t kowtow to all the liberal pieties.
—Armond White, National Review, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kowtow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kowtow
Verb
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Williams never fussed about it, though and his relationships with many in the organization weren’t overly affected.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Apr. 2025
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No crying or fussing or squirming.—
Danielle Pergament,
SELF,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Empire was a sinister, one-note shadow: faceless Storm Troopers, toadying fascistic generals, a cackling emperor, and of course Darth Vader, an enigmatic demon masked and cloaked in black.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
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The only other psychological need that rivals his thirst for toadying is the pursuit of .—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Fair to say that the Ichiban has already accomplished its primary objective of getting moto nerds to drool over it on their phone screens – even though there is little likelihood that it will be built as it is envisioned.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2025
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Pay attention for signs of distress: panting, drooling, a high heart rate, dry nose, lethargy, or even vomiting, staggering or seizures.—
Kate Bradshaw,
The Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Unless Trump’s art of the deal is all about truckling to Putin.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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Garbarino enjoyed his time with the Southern river rats and mountain folk, and their refusal to truckle to authority delights him to this day.—
David Samuels,
Town & Country,
18 Oct. 2013
Verb
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Alongside Spotify, Patreon has also submitted an iOS app update that allows creators to accept payments via non-Apple methods.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
2 May 2025
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The agency’s decision followed a lengthy process that began with a 2007 petition submitted by environmental groups and that involved several lawsuits.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
Verb
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Posey will be given a lot of rope, befitting a franchise icon who received almost nothing but fawning praise from the media and fan base since exploding onto the scene.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2025
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Eve’s sis Maggie (Julianna Margulies), a novelist who dips into her personal life liberally for inspiration, bickers a lot with her judgmental but fawning husband Nick (Campbell Scott), a novelist bitten by the writer’s block.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
20 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kowtow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kowtow. Accessed 8 May. 2025.
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