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apple-polishers

noun

plural of apple-polisher
as in brownnosers
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-polishers
  1. minions
  2. parasites
  3. fans
  4. toadies
  5. henchmen
  6. sycophants
  7. lickspittles
  8. sponges
Noun
  • Musashi becomes part of a crew that fights the Genma and Yoshitsune’s minions.
    — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Just as Wolverine is surrounded, he’s saved by Mystique, who’s shape-shifted herself into one of Trask’s minions.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of minions
Noun
  • Analyzing mosquito waste showed the presence of viruses along with other parasites.
    — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Under this theory, organisms figured out how to turn genes off to get these unruly genetic parasites under control.
    — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of parasites
Noun
  • What may have surprised even modern sports fans, however, was Ole Miss' suing two of its former players who followed former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin to his new position as head football coach at LSU.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • After the Sox scored six runs in the first inning and led 8-2 after the third, most fans settled in for a postgame concert by country music star Cole Swindell.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of fans
Noun
  • Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Like the most treacherous toadies from literature — Iago, Wormtongue, Tywin Lannister — Miller managed to shove aside rivals to latch onto his master’s ear and guide him toward more evil.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Definition of toadies
Noun
  • The last of Lila and Amisha’s henchmen has fled with the remaining supply of poison aerosol, intending to detonate it, on Amisha’s orders, at a nightclub.
    — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026
  • After crash landing on the dark world directly onto the homing beacon, EO and his crazy crew are apprehended by a gang of warrior henchmen and hauled into the throne room to face the wicked alien ruler who is imprisoned in anger and hate.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of henchmen
Noun
  • For its sycophants, LIV Golf was a new flavor in the vanilla world of professional golf.
    — Brody Miller, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Our state is under siege by the skilled sycophants who surround the president and use his base desires as cover for their own destructive agendas.
    — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of sycophants
Noun
  • Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Firmly in control of the nation’s massive federal apparatus, MAGA and its Republican lickspittles in Congress have thrived on chaos.
    — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of lickspittles
Noun
  • For more than a century, scientists thought that sponges, or porifera, were the first to branch off — the sister group to all other animals.
    — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 16 Sep. 2026
  • These non-scratch sponges are safe to use on most surfaces and are easy to rinse clean.
    — Brooke Knappenberger, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of sponges
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Apple-polishers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polishers. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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