as in fussing
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 Synonyms for bootlicking
Verb
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Yes, teaching by example is often a better way of handling a challenge than fussing about it.
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Ever the dedicated mother, Stacy runs to her adult daughter’s aid, fussing at her for not using a driver for her errands.
Verb
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Pelley’s fawning interview with then-president Biden tells a different story.
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Along for the ride is his fawning, idiotic buddy Stevie (Steve Little).
Verb
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If chewed or ingested, some of these products can cause drooling, stomach upset, and other signs of toxicity in pets.
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This pitching matchup will have the purists drooling.
Verb
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What distinguishes Camper, at least musically, is his deference to classic R&B signifiers without kowtowing to pastiche.
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After all, the series largely avoids other topical issues of modern campus life, from freedom of speech restrictions to administrators kowtowing to autocracies.
Cite this Entry
“Bootlicking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootlicking. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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