as in fussing
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-polishing
Verb
-
Ever the dedicated mother, Stacy runs to her adult daughter’s aid, fussing at her for not using a driver for her errands.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026 -
Your son is fussing in his car seat.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Predators respond with head shaking, gaping, drooling, and frantic licking.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
13 Apr. 2026
-
But Cremily won over teams and venues with a story worth drooling over.—
Sam Blum,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
After all, the series largely avoids other topical issues of modern campus life, from freedom of speech restrictions to administrators kowtowing to autocracies.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The public demand was made based on a social media post from right-wing journalist Laura Loomer, who pointed to a video in which Rice vowed to hold companies accountable for kowtowing to Trump if Democrats regain power in the federal government.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And if fawning over flora is your thing, a new report by online casino Spinblitz might inspire you to book a getaway.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Infantino’s gesture might strike people unacquainted with World Cup history as shamelessly fawning.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 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-polishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polishing. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
