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 bootlicking
Its mission was to upset hierarchies, not reinforce them, and few things were more offensive to comedians than bootlicking.
—
Robert Lynch, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
Robert Lynch, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootlicking
Verb
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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.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
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Your son is fussing in his car seat.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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Infantino’s gesture might strike people unacquainted with World Cup history as shamelessly fawning.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Chase Reid, meanwhile, just put together a better-than-point-per-game season in the OHL and has the loud tools — the escapability and skating speed in particular — that have NHL scouts positively drooling.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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Predators respond with head shaking, gaping, drooling, and frantic licking.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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What distinguishes Camper, at least musically, is his deference to classic R&B signifiers without kowtowing to pastiche.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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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.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bootlicking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootlicking. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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