1
as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a young lieutenant constantly sucking up to the commanding officer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in flunkey
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
I'd like to give my boss a birthday present, but I don't want to look like a shameless suck-up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of suck
Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2022
Carolyn Forté, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Appliances & Cleaning Products Lab, created a printable checklist to make sure keeping the house neat doesn't suck up endless hours of time on weekends anymore.
—Zee Krstic, Good Housekeeping, 22 Nov. 2022
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2023
Office suck-ups, popularized by television characters like Dwight Schrute in The Office and Tom Wambsgans in Succession, typically take their cues from those in charge.
—Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for suck
Verb
Looking to give socks that don’t suck this holiday season?
—Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2022
Carolyn Forté, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Appliances & Cleaning Products Lab, created a printable checklist to make sure keeping the house neat doesn't suck up endless hours of time on weekends anymore.
—Zee Krstic, Good Housekeeping, 22 Nov. 2022
Noun
Back in the dawn of the Trump era — just prior to his 2017 inauguration — the line of would-be suck-ups queuing up for face time with the president-elect included a man with a distinguished name.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2023
Office suck-ups, popularized by television characters like Dwight Schrute in The Office and Tom Wambsgans in Succession, typically take their cues from those in charge.
—Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for suck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suck
Noun
-
There are still sycophants and acolytes, but no savvy producers to make his head-scratching moves appear to make sense.—
Laura Bassett,
Rolling Stone,
14 Apr. 2025
-
This is the grim lesson—one that the ambitious sycophants who attach themselves to power have always been slow to learn—of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy, a series of fat, dense novels that filter the reign of Henry VIII through the rise and fall of his Machiavellian advisor, Thomas Cromwell.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelenskyy while Russian leaders rejoiced.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
-
Of course, being a junior senator and attaching your name to legislation that has little chance of being enacted—none of those have bills passed—is very different from being Vice-President and chief lickspittle to Trump.—
John Cassidy,
The New Yorker,
22 July 2024
Noun
-
Courtesy of Lucasfilm On an isolated farm at the outer reaches of a fascist empire, a mid-level government toady interrogates his victims.—
Jake Kleinman,
Wired News,
23 Apr. 2025
-
The anecdote illustrates the contrast in competence and grasp of real world dangers between Reagan’s team and Trump’s toadies — and also between these presidents themselves.—
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Besides being massively ignorant, Musk and his minions are drunk on ideology.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
-
Through their minions in the media, in Big Pharma, and woke teachers manipulating their children's minds, these elites hold an iron grip on society.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
For households seeking more cooling options, the lineup at Della home appliance also includes window AC units, portable ACs, central air systems, and a new tower fan set to launch in May.—
Jon Stojan,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
-
Howe gave the fans a rallying cry when facing the media on Friday.—
Harry De Cosemo,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Bathing in the blood of virgins is just one such regime, and god help the flunky who dares displease milady.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
2 May 2025
-
No matter what spec-chart flunkies might say about a car that merely hits 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, GT 63 proved as ferocious and exhilarating as any front-engine GT car available, whether German, Italian or English.—
Mark Ewing,
Forbes,
30 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
But things get gory for the many cicadas that are unlucky enough to be infected by the deadly fungal parasite Massospora cicadina.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 May 2025
-
But sometimes, like a tick on a dog, one animal takes advantage of another — a parasite.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
6 May 2025
Noun
-
If Trump wanted to relieve Adams from his criminal indictment, the president could simply have pardoned the mayor, instead his henchman Emil Bove concocted a scheme to temporarily suspend the case against Adams provided the mayor went along with the Trump immigration agenda.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2025
-
Especially when Cadfael’s worldly wisdom and endless curiosity puts him at odds with his stricter brethren, including the authoritarian Prior Robert (Michael Culver) and his deliciously weasely henchman Brother Jerome (Julian Firth).—
Mary McNamara,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suck. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share