as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
the kind of office in which people feel they have to bootlick in order to get ahead
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Recent Examples of bootlick
Its mission was to upset hierarchies, not reinforce them, and few things were more offensive to comedians than bootlicking.
—
Robert Lynch,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.
—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Those who delay this fate the longest are bootlicking mediocrities — the survival of the sycophants.
—
Michael Gerson,
Anchorage Daily News,
18 Mar. 2018
Robert Lynch,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.
—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Those who delay this fate the longest are bootlicking mediocrities — the survival of the sycophants.
—
Michael Gerson,
Anchorage Daily News,
18 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootlick
Verb
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Yes, teaching by example is often a better way of handling a challenge than fussing about it.
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No need to fuss-up something that's just as delicious prepared simply.
Verb
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Part of what fascinated me about their presentation was not only their refusal to kowtow to male desire, which for decades had a stranglehold on rock aesthetics, but a concomitant disavowal of commercialism.
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But opponents now say the plan kowtows to oil and gas interests who are lobbying hard for concessions, citing an already unstable state and international energy market.
Verb
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The only other psychological need that rivals his thirst for toadying is the pursuit of .
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Hamlet’s toadying friends, the hangers-on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are Izzard’s own talking hands, popping up to face her like a pair of Muppets.
Verb
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Isaacs said the symptoms of heat stress or heat stroke include excessive panting, drooling, vomiting, seizures or collapse.
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This golden lasagna is the perfect way to offer a vegetarian option that meat-eaters will be drooling over.
Verb
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Unless Trump’s art of the deal is all about truckling to Putin.
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During the campaign, most of Trump’s fallen rivals blasted him in exceptional terms—before truckling to support him against Hillary Clinton.
Verb
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But the food justified every rave review, hour-long wait for a table, and fawning Instagram image.
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There were no megastars to fawn over.
Cite this Entry
“Bootlick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootlick. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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