Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sucking (up to)
Verb
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The culprits were Gen Zers fawning over how cute cozy Snoopy was, often on social media.—
Malia Mendez,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026 -
Cut to Yerin Ha’s Sophie Baek, the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood, fawning over the idea of attending a ball.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
25 Dec. 2025
Verb
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One of his former teachers was still there, coaxing students to line up neatly.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
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But coaxing nematodes is tricky and time-consuming, so Ortega-Jiménez collaborated with Ranjiangshang Ran, a postdoc studying fluid mechanics at Emory University, who ran computer simulations of thousands more jump trajectories.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Two years ago, she got fired from her $196,551 hack sinecure at the Cannabis Control Commission for not sufficiently kowtowing to the woke mob.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
22 Nov. 2025
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Flattering, placating, and kowtowing only seem to spark escalating demands while defiance risks retaliation.—
Jeff Kingston,
Time,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For generations, the Fed declined to use it, instead cajoling the private sector to pick up the tab for costly bank failures.—
Aaron Klein,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2026
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Although Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina went along, Indiana did not -- despite cajoling and insults from the president and the possibility of primary challenges.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Dec. 2025
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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 9 Jan. 2026.
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