sucking (up to)

verb

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

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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
  • 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
  • Evelyn then gets to meet Juliette, who is visibly uncomfortable with this fangirl fawning all over her.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 10 July 2026
Definition of fawning
Verb
  • The team is working on building ribosomes from genetic instructions, a process that involves synthesizing the dozens of proteins and RNA strands involved and coaxing them to assemble in the right order.
    — Lori Youmshajekian, Scientific American, 14 July 2026
  • El Niños roll in periodically and last nine to 12 months as Pacific trade winds weaken and push warm water back toward the West Coast, coaxing the jet stream lower.
    — Evan Clark, Footwear News, 13 July 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
  • Someone there has to be gobbier and start cajoling players into their proper positions.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 4 July 2026
  • 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
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
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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 23 Jul. 2026.

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