as in subordinate
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kowtowing
Adjective
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The 6th Ranger Training Battalion belongs to the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade which is a subordinate brigade of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025 -
The company kept the HBO brand, of course, as subordinate under the Max umbrella.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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So Alex dons a uniform, buses tables and engages in servile labor for the first time in her life.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
23 Mar. 2025
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Trump’s servile devotion to Putin becomes the new norm overnight as Republicans cower in support of Trump’s new Putin policy.—
Bob Kustra,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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At 11:30, as the simultaneously pompous and obsequious gate agent announces the passengers above gold status, the bit, already tilting toward insanity, leaves any attempt to portray a real airport behind and dives fully into Alice in Wonderland–level surrealism.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
8 May 2025
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And the obsequious fealty shown to him by the Republican Party reinforces why a president running amok should never have this much power again.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Women in the surrealist movement were often relegated to the role of the femme enfant – often young, beautiful women who were expected to be subservient to male artists.—
Mackenzie Farkus,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 May 2025
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The relevance of what is happening in front of them falls subservient to rival scorelines.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Nonetheless, the film’s tension is almost immediately diffused by a slavish devotion to the facts.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2025
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Yet in Kim’s slavish dedication to the Jeju haenyeo’s testimony, many questions that arise in this setting are left unexplored.—
Geoffrey Bunting,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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They’re done being obedient to an archaic and broken system.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
1 Aug. 2024
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According to the new framing, Russia’s real fight is against the mighty United States, which wants to destroy it, while Ukraine—just like the European Union and NATO—is merely an obedient U.S. satellite.—
Andrei Kolesnikov,
Foreign Affairs,
25 May 2023
Adjective
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By contrast, a beta is supposedly weak and submissive—a follower.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
7 Mar. 2025
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Your value lies in being pretty, silent, submissive and unfailingly supportive of men.—
Marie Bostwick,
People.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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On the other end of the spectrum was the more docile Kelly who often felt conflicted when her morals clashed with the cunning needed to succeed in the game.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
27 May 2025
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This time around, Venus in Aries will be more docile and less rambunctious.—
Lisa Stardust,
Refinery29,
28 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Kowtowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kowtowing. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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