as in brownnoser
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
a transparent apple-polisher whose fulsome praise fooled no one
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apple-polisher
Noun
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Everything Wendy does this week just looks cool, thanks in part to her impressive calm and sense of purpose, and thanks even more to the way she’s framed: often from a low angle, at the center of the composition, surrounded by her minions.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
24 Sep. 2025 -
Rapidly spreading its toxic influence across the lands, Magatsu and its minions are a world-ending threat, and the early tutorial bit sees players square up against the baddie only to ultimately lose.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Then, of course, there's the breakout star of the show, Trypanohyncha Ocellus (aka the freaky eye/squid/parasite thing), which comes with its own mix tape of sonic horrors.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
8 Oct. 2025
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Such heat shortens the parasite’s incubation time inside mosquitoes, increasing the odds of transmission.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Some fans on social media speculated that the pop star’s T-shirt might be a subtle jab at Swift, who frequently visits Kansas City with her fiancé, Travis Kelce.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
12 Oct. 2025
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There will be a lot of Cowboys fans in the crowd.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This draft meeting resembled a bully in the high school cafeteria seeking toadies — any veneer of scouting objectivity was shed.—
Michael Hurley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
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In the past, Newsom denounced judges who ruled against them as toadies of the firearms industry.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Instead of adding texture via techniques like sponge painting, opt for limewash or clay plaster treatment.—
Tessa Cooper,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Oct. 2025
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Think of the amount of moisture in the atmosphere like the amount of water in a sponge.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Trump’s ego and his lickspittles’ desire to feed it, should have nothing to do with commemorating the founding.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
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California’s vulnerable House Republicans are a diverse gaggle that includes new blood and old-timers, a Trump antagonist and a Trump lickspittle.—
Michelle Cottle,
Mercury News,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The only character who seems entirely transparent is Frederik, who can’t hide his resentment of his second-class spousal status or his contempt for the sycophants and mediocrities who cling to his wife like barnacles.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
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This willingness of the AI to heap praise and act as a sycophant has worrying consequences for the populace as a whole.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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It was intended to ensure that Black people, including former slaves, had citizenship.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Oct. 2025
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Commemorative coins honoring the 200th anniversary of the birth of Harriet Tubman, a former slave who helped other slaves escape through the Underground Railroad, were issued in 2024.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Apple-polisher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polisher. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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