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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apple-polish
Verb
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As the migrants boarded, a man hoisted one of the passengers in the air, a fussing 8-month-old baby whose face was flushed red from the heat.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
6 Nov. 2025 -
The final Queen of France was often homesick and would fuss about the performative nature of her aristocratic duties.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CWD can take months to years for symptoms to appear, which could include drastic weight loss, stumbling or lack of coordination, drooling and listlessness.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
30 Oct. 2025
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Naturally, the post attracted over 16,000 comments of women drooling over him.—
Essence,
Essence,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Instead of supporting allies in NATO and Ukraine against aggressive Russian territorial expansion, the United States has proposed drastic cuts to defensive military support measures and played fawning host to Vladimir Putin.—
Time,
Time,
28 Oct. 2025
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But there were – among the fawning compliments and the conviction an elusive peace was near – bits of good news for Ukraine.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
18 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Apple-polish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polish. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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