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
Those who delay this fate the longest are bootlicking mediocrities — the survival of the sycophants.
—
Michael Gerson, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Mar. 2018
Michael Gerson, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootlick
Verb
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As Harper, from Queensland, Australia, pet Olive and stroked her face gently, her furious golden retriever, named Cub, sat upright and appeared to frown at his owner for fussing anyone other than him.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 May 2025
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Video footage of the animals shows the eagle fussing at the coyote and trying to chase it off.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
6 May 2025
Verb
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Many of the university’s new policies have been seen by some critics as kowtowing to the Trump Administration.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
8 May 2025
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Zen and others view any warming of ties with Beijing as kowtowing to an officially atheist regime.—
Eryk Michael Smith,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Empire was a sinister, one-note shadow: faceless Storm Troopers, toadying fascistic generals, a cackling emperor, and of course Darth Vader, an enigmatic demon masked and cloaked in black.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
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The only other psychological need that rivals his thirst for toadying is the pursuit of .—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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My baby mutters and drool drips down his chin from his new molar.—
Jessica Slice,
Time,
9 May 2025
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Collectors drool over the wrist watch from the ‘60s.—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Unless Trump’s art of the deal is all about truckling to Putin.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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Garbarino enjoyed his time with the Southern river rats and mountain folk, and their refusal to truckle to authority delights him to this day.—
David Samuels,
Town & Country,
18 Oct. 2013
Verb
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Fans and friends are fawning over the soft, warm-but-not-brassy ginger shade in her comments.—
Marci Robin,
Allure,
9 May 2025
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The 2025 Met Gala red carpet has officially closed, but we’re not done fawning over A-listers’ looks.—
Nicol Natale,
People.com,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bootlick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootlick. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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