as in to fawn
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suck (up to)
Verb
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The service Like pretty much everything at this hotel, the service is both smart and discreet—not fawning, but preemptive and always on alert.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026 -
And yet art-world institutions—including major museums, schools, commercial galleries, and publishing outlets—have mostly avoided the fawning capitulation of universities and Democrats, simply going quiet in the hope of escaping notice for the next three years.—
Katy Siegel,
Artforum,
2 June 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
Verb
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In the course of a single session, the harried Paula (played by Tatiana Maslany) gets a hot, younger guy to listen to her complain about her ex-husband, offer feedback on her home-decorating ideas, and coax her into a climax—all in a few short minutes.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
28 May 2026
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Has anyone had success with these colorful callas, coaxing them to bloom year after year as advertised?—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
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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As the lots rolled by, Mosoff watched quietly, still fortified by the exclusive tasting laid on to butter up bidders prior to the action.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
25 May 2026
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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
Verb
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Chef Albert was a restaurateur trying to wheedle a good review out of a tough restaurant critic.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
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In a bid to rekindle the couple’s honeymoon phase, Yasmin troubleshoots by wheedling a chief executive role for him at payment processing company Tender (run by Max Minghella‘s inscrutable puppet-master Whitney Halberstram), and throwing her husband a lavish costume party for his 40th birthday.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After years of lobbying, cajoling – virtually pleading – state lawmakers back in 2024 finally granted the state Lottery an online presence.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
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Now, her portrayal of Zosia, the hive mind emissary sent to cajole Rhea Seehorn’s Carol into joining the world’s collective consciousness in Vince Gilligan’s Apple TV sci-fi tale of a happiness apocalypse, has stirred up Emmy buzz.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The first name that caught his eye was Nicklas Lidstrom, the great Detroit Red Wing, whom Werenski idolized as a boy growing up in Michigan.—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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As a child Modrić idolized the Yugoslav (later Croatian) footballer Zvonimir Boban.—
Sanat Pai Raikar,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Suck (up to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suck%20%28up%20to%29. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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