sucking (up to)

verb

Definition of sucking (up to)next
present participle of suck (up to)
as in buttering up

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sucking (up to)
  1. buttering up
  2. fawning
  3. coaxing
  4. kowtowing
  5. cajoling
  6. wheedling
Verb
  • 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
Definition of buttering up
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 fawning
Verb
  • Last year, Ian Stamy took the state prize for his bumper soybean yield, coaxing an average of just over 100 bushels per acre from his operation in central Pennsylvania.
    — Scott Neuman, NPR, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Carlos Rodon executed his pitch perfectly, coaxing Christian Franklin into what should have been an inning-ending double-play ball hit straight to Chisholm at second base.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of coaxing
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of kowtowing
Verb
  • In the clip, Bottomley’s character can be seen cajoling Howells’ Taylor into having a drink and letting loose at a house party.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 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 cajoling
Verb
  • 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 wheedling
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.

Browse Nearby Words

sucking (up)
sucking (up to)
suckle
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sucking (up to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sucking%20%28up%20to%29. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of prowess

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All