SUCK (UP TO) Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

suck (up to)

verb

Definition of suck (up to)

as in to fawn

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for suck (up to)

Verb

In Agamemnon’s memory, Clytemnestra is as soft as Helen is hard, as fawning as Helen is resentful.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 29 July 2026
Fuentes enjoyed a brief flare of mainstream publicity last year, culminating in a fawning interview with former Republican kingmaker and broadcaster Tucker Carlson.

— Will Carless, USA Today, 10 July 2026

Definition of fawn

Verb

The decision has led to accusations that FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has kowtowed to Trump, who last year won FIFA’s inaugural peace prize, prompting European lawmakers to call for an investigation into how the prize was awarded, Le Monde reported.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 6 July 2026
Yet at the deadline, Frank said the quiet part out loud about how the Clippers used to build the roster to kowtow to Leonard, but the time for those maneuvers was over.

— Law Murray, New York Times, 30 June 2026

Definition of kowtow

Verb

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
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

Definition of butter up

Verb

Chef Albert was a restaurateur trying to wheedle a good review out of a tough restaurant critic.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
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

Definition of wheedle

Verb

Ostensibly playing themselves, the group here gathers at a country manse to celebrate one member’s breakaway mainstream success — and for the other three to beg/cajole him into sharing that good fortune.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 July 2026
Someone there has to be gobbier and start cajoling players into their proper positions.

— Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 4 July 2026

Definition of cajole

Verb

Driving the success is a Lebanese duo with a great backstory (one player used to idolize the other) - which William Mullaly details in this great piece for The National.

— Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026
Although Hendrix is fond of his dad’s Knicks, Haze idolizes a different NBA superstar.

— Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of idolize

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suck-ups

suck (up to)

sucky

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“Suck (up to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suck%20%28up%20to%29. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of suck (up to)

verb

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