as in subordinate
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as in fussing
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
you can try kowtowing to the boss, but he'll see right through you
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Recent Examples of kowtowing
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
Flattering, placating, and kowtowing only seem to spark escalating demands while defiance risks retaliation.
—Jeff Kingston, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
Pushback by viewers in Sinclair and Nexstar’s ABC markets, and the perception that the companies are kowtowing to the FCC chairman’s anti-liberal ideology, could be a factor to lead the companies to relent.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
The secretary accused the AAP of kowtowing to corporate benefactors while ignoring the clear evidence that such vaccines are safe for children and can prevent serious illness.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
Two years ago, she got fired from her $196,551 hack sinecure at the Cannabis Control Commission for not sufficiently kowtowing to the woke mob.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
Flattering, placating, and kowtowing only seem to spark escalating demands while defiance risks retaliation.
—Jeff Kingston, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
Pushback by viewers in Sinclair and Nexstar’s ABC markets, and the perception that the companies are kowtowing to the FCC chairman’s anti-liberal ideology, could be a factor to lead the companies to relent.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
The secretary accused the AAP of kowtowing to corporate benefactors while ignoring the clear evidence that such vaccines are safe for children and can prevent serious illness.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kowtowing
Adjective
-
The inspector general's investigation found that Reece and Ruff — who were supervisor and subordinate — did not disclose their romantic relationship, which is a violation of a city executive order.—
Nushrat Rahman,
Freep.com,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Santa’s elves are subordinate Clauses.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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As the migrants boarded, a man hoisted one of the passengers in the air, a fussing 8-month-old baby whose face was flushed red from the heat.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
With five blades sandwiched between two moisturizing bars, this razor speeds up the entire process (no fussing around with shaving cream), nourishing dry skin and making nicks a rare occurrence.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And Williams and Storrie, the show’s stars, have become one of Hollywood’s favorite duos, with even fellow celebrities fawning over them.—
Natalie Bennett,
NBC news,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The culprits were Gen Zers fawning over how cute cozy Snoopy was, often on social media.—
Malia Mendez,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
After all, the deal — for a long-forsaken project, an action-comedy franchise starring two aging stars — underscores the servile fealty of new Paramount owners Larry and David Ellison amid their recent maneuvering to take control of TikTok and Warner Bros. Discovery (the latter seemingly futile).—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Dec. 2025
-
Earlier this year, my colleague and bud Kelefa Sanneh suggested that music critics, as a lot, have gone soft—becoming submissive, overly agreeable, and, in some cases, nearly servile.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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This approach is best exemplified by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who in June sent Trump an obsequious message praising his Middle Eastern diplomacy and lauding him for getting European countries to spend more on defense.—
Philip H. Gordon,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
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The darkest thread, meanwhile, is the obsequious reverence for Epstein.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
17 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Lynch is in a subservient power-sharing arrangement with coach Kyle Shanahan.—
Michael Cunningham,
AJC.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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Created by Alex Horne, who plays the subservient assistant in the episodes, the show has a unique talent for mining comedy from complete mundanity and inanity, and somehow gets more creative with each passing season.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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People who climb upward by sacrificing their integrity to slavish subservience almost always fall on their faces eventually.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
-
The film’s slavish dedication to its source material — the challenging of which would open its own can of worms — demands ignoring all potential complexity in favor of didactic conclusions.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Duff wrote alongside a drooling-face emoji.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
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But pets who eat poinsettia flowers or leaves might develop drooling, vomiting or diarrhea.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kowtowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kowtowing. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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