as in to honey
to praise too much
a flunky who shamelessly butters up the boss
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Recent Examples of butter up
Ben spends the afternoon buttering up Ellie and praising her cake-icing skills, and even gives her the task of decorating the wedding cake.
—
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Some buttering up in your prompt can likely produce this.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Enter Rutte, who knew Trump from his time as Prime Minister, and who got to work buttering up the American president.
—Tom Nagorski, Time, 18 July 2025
Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
Anderson, currently a free agent, could be buttering up the Commanders to get a contract offer, but there is some truth to his statement.
—Victor Williams, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
The preview for The Muppet Show reveals special guest Sabrina Carpenter buttering up Miss Piggy backstage.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Some buttering up in your prompt can likely produce this.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Enter Rutte, who knew Trump from his time as Prime Minister, and who got to work buttering up the American president.
—Tom Nagorski, Time, 18 July 2025
Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
Anderson, currently a free agent, could be buttering up the Commanders to get a contract offer, but there is some truth to his statement.
—Victor Williams, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
The preview for The Muppet Show reveals special guest Sabrina Carpenter buttering up Miss Piggy backstage.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butter up
Verb
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Her voice, languid and honeyed, can glide over sensual R&B, bouncing reggaetón, shimmering pop or nostalgic jazz.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
16 Oct. 2025
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Those harmonies — simultaneously honeyed and gravelly, providing just enough support without overshadowing, yet so powerful and full of potential — echoes Whitten.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
2 July 2024
Verb
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Blue Collar fans flooded the comments on the Instagram post, congratulating Serfer for building an institution that will forever be part of Miami’s culinary history.—
Amy Reyes,
Miami Herald,
16 May 2026
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Gil’s excited parents Annah (Clémentine Célarie) and Alain (Christian Benedetti) arrive along with her friends Agnes (Mina Kavani) and Ibrahim (Oussama Kheddam) to congratulate her.—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Verb
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There was only one other visitor, another mother stroking another small head.—
Fran Moreland Johns,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
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On that bed my mother would stroke my hair and hands.—
Chiara Barzini,
Vogue,
9 May 2026
Verb
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In October 2018, a student told her school counselor and then Hiner that Agan had come up behind her and started massaging her neck beneath her long hair.—
Holly McDede,
ProPublica,
12 May 2026
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Berrios-Otero was later seen allegedly massaging both boys, including one of them in their groin and buttocks area, the warrant affidavits said.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
2 May 2026
Verb
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Passed in the final days of session and signed into law by Lamont earlier this week, the bill was praised as a massive victory for the state’s labor community and has been strongly embraced by unions and workers advocacy groups.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
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This brings me back to the students who booed the real-estate developer praising AI.—
Hope Loudon,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 May 2026
Verb
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When Vargas concluded, the Cannes audience applauded mid-movie.—
Jada Yuan,
HollywoodReporter,
19 May 2026
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Both Judge Lang and Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden applauded the victim’s courage.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Manager Dave Roberts has commended Sasaki for being more open-minded about feedback and change this season.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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Pat O'Donnell, executive director of SAG-AFTRA's Washington-Mid Atlantic Local, which represents hundreds of NPR journalists, commends the network's approach to making job cuts.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
18 May 2026
Verb
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The button-up shirt dress is lightweight with a flattering silhouette and elastic waist that adds the right amount of definition without feeling uncomfortably tight.—
Jill Layton,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
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The Elvissa is a shrunken, '90s-esque oval shape with curved metal arms that add architectural edge in a petite size that's great for flattering smaller faces.—
Kelsey Legg,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Butter up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butter%20up. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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