Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sucking (up to)
Verb
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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 -
The preview for The Muppet Show reveals special guest Sabrina Carpenter buttering up Miss Piggy backstage.—
Ashley Iasimone,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2019
Verb
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But the exhibition and the scholarship, though occasionally a bit fawning, show why the value of Lewis’s art doesn’t hang on these distinctions.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
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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
Verb
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With coaxing from Christine’s fellow chorus member Meg Giry (Melo Ludwig) and her mother who oversees the dancers, Madame Giry (Lisa Vroman), Christine is granted the big assignment.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
1 June 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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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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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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Nearby, a group of teenage boys try their luck on a slackline over a pool six-and-a-half-feet deep before cajoling each other up to the cliff diving platforms.—
Lauren Keith,
Robb Report,
30 May 2026
Verb
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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
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Cite this Entry
“Sucking (up to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sucking%20%28up%20to%29. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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