as in to curry favor
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a departmental supervisor who apple-polishes shamelessly whenever higher-ups are about
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apple-polish
Verb
-
Need to put a filling dinner on the table, but don't have a lot of time to fuss?—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
22 Dec. 2025 -
Dunst doesn’t get fussed about that sort of thing.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Duff wrote alongside a drooling-face emoji.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Line play enthusiasts would drool for 60 minutes.—
David Ubben,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The ordinary pleasures and frustrations of interdependence wither under fawning’s pathologizing scaffold.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
-
And Williams and Storrie, the show’s stars, have become one of Hollywood’s favorite duos, with even fellow celebrities fawning over them.—
Natalie Bennett,
NBC news,
10 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Apple-polish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polish. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
