suck (up to)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for suck (up to)
Verb
  • Celebrities on the publicity circuit who are accustomed to the usual techniques and tricks of interviewers—softball questions, fawning compliments—find themselves in a different and disconcerting dynamic.
    Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Not only was President Joe Biden in serious decline, Karine Jean-Pierre — celebrated in numerous fawning media profiles — was a rotten White House press secretary.
    Rich Lowry, National Review, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • That was part of a broader DeSantis attack against the House for kowtowing to liberal trial lawyers.
    Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 14 June 2025
  • On one side is a Senate GOP almost entirely representing lower-cost states that is tired of kowtowing to the House; on the other side is a handful of House members whose electoral wins gave Republicans the majority, and the ability to even write a party-line tax bill.
    Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 13 June 2025
Verb
  • At the burgeoning flower farm, Hutchison coaxes beautiful, sustainable, cut flowers to life.
    Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 28 June 2025
  • Nothing because for most of his impeccable run at the restaurant Providence in Los Angeles—searing the finest fish to glistening perfection, coaxing layers of depth from an uni custard—Michelin wasn’t even registering the work.
    David Hochman, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • Enjoy flavored nuts, such as those that are candied, glazed, or honied, in moderation.
    Selene Yeager, Health, 24 Feb. 2024
Verb
  • Add butter and pulse in or use a fork to break butter up into pea-size pieces.
    Mary Ann Esposito, Boston Herald, 21 May 2025
  • In contrast, Tai — who eventually becomes a powerful lawyer as an adult — often relies on buttering up her witnesses and using courtroom theatrics to get her point across.
    Erin Qualey, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Eli Mintz, a Yiddish-theatre star, played Uncle David with a high, wheedling voice, his hands a blur of gesticulation, and the Goldberg children were portrayed by Gentile actors, including the endearing Arlene (Fuzzy) McQuade as the preteen Rosalie, a studious girl with a sleek bob.
    Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
  • The ObamaCare failure made the tax cut harder, but after months of jawboning and wheedling, the White House got the deal done at the end of 2017.
    Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 2 May 2025
Verb
  • Doing prescribed burns safely takes a lot of boots on the ground and behind-the-scenes cajoling to make sure local residents, and regulators, are on board.
    Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025
  • In deciding on this course, Putin has also rendered futile any attempts to cajole, lure, or appease him.
    ANDREI YAKOVLEV, Foreign Affairs, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • Both Bobrovsky and Tarasov are from Novokuznetsk, Russia, and Bobrovsky idolized Tarasov’s father, Vadim, growing up.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 June 2025
  • In the late fifties and early sixties the Method was the rage, especially among the young actors of about Willy’s age, who all idolized Marlon Brando and would go on to transform American cinema in a few years: Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and so on.
    Benjamin Hale June 23, Literary Hub, 23 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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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 4 Jul. 2025.

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