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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of kowtowing
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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
The public demand was made based on a social media post from right-wing journalist Laura Loomer, who pointed to a video in which Rice vowed to hold companies accountable for kowtowing to Trump if Democrats regain power in the federal government.
—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Feb. 2026
On Tuesday, Colbert claimed CBS management is kowtowing to Carr and showing a lack of corporate courage.
—
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
But Thibodeau was never interested in being Tony La Russa and kowtowing to Reinsdorf or the management team of Gar Forman and John Paxson.
—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
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
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
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
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
The public demand was made based on a social media post from right-wing journalist Laura Loomer, who pointed to a video in which Rice vowed to hold companies accountable for kowtowing to Trump if Democrats regain power in the federal government.
—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Feb. 2026
On Tuesday, Colbert claimed CBS management is kowtowing to Carr and showing a lack of corporate courage.
—
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
But Thibodeau was never interested in being Tony La Russa and kowtowing to Reinsdorf or the management team of Gar Forman and John Paxson.
—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
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
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
-
Executive Vulnerability How a leader reacts in the five-second window after being corrected by a subordinate determines the future of that company’s innovation.
-
The economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good.
Verb
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Yes, teaching by example is often a better way of handling a challenge than fussing about it.
-
Ever the dedicated mother, Stacy runs to her adult daughter’s aid, fussing at her for not using a driver for her errands.
Adjective
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Unfortunately, Trump takes servile flattery as his due.
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Of course, all of this convenient acquiescence will sound familiar in the United States, where our own Congress and Department of Justice have been nothing if not servile to a brazenly corrupt executive.
Verb
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But the food justified every rave review, hour-long wait for a table, and fawning Instagram image.
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Pelley’s fawning interview with then-president Biden tells a different story.
Adjective
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To cede all of that ground to the executive, and to do so in such an obsequious way, is shameful.
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Dawkins regards these obsequious interactions between his weird little menagerie of bots very seriously, and the AIs’ flattery clearly works.
Verb
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Its mission was to upset hierarchies, not reinforce them, and few things were more offensive to comedians than bootlicking.
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Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.
Adjective
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Her character, June — called Offred to reflect her subservient role — was our entry point into the totalitarian world of Gilead, a patriarchal society in which handmaids are forced to bear the children of the elite.
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And the ones that do exist were faceless in fields, or caricatured — displayed as subservient property.
Verb
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Signs of heat stroke in dogs include heavy panting and drooling, being weak or lethargic, bright red gums and bloodshot eyes.
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This golden lasagna is the perfect way to offer a vegetarian option that meat-eaters will be drooling over.
Cite this Entry
“Kowtowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kowtowing. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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