as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
the kind of guy who truckles to anyone who might present a lucrative opportunity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of truckle
Unless Trump’s art of the deal is all about truckling to Putin.
—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
During the campaign, most of Trump’s fallen rivals blasted him in exceptional terms—before truckling to support him against Hillary Clinton.
—
James Fallows,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2017
Garbarino enjoyed his time with the Southern river rats and mountain folk, and their refusal to truckle to authority delights him to this day.
—
David Samuels,
Town & Country,
18 Oct. 2013
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
During the campaign, most of Trump’s fallen rivals blasted him in exceptional terms—before truckling to support him against Hillary Clinton.
—
James Fallows,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2017
Garbarino enjoyed his time with the Southern river rats and mountain folk, and their refusal to truckle to authority delights him to this day.
—
David Samuels,
Town & Country,
18 Oct. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truckle
Verb
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Yes, teaching by example is often a better way of handling a challenge than fussing about it.
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No need to fuss-up something that's just as delicious prepared simply.
Verb
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Part of what fascinated me about their presentation was not only their refusal to kowtow to male desire, which for decades had a stranglehold on rock aesthetics, but a concomitant disavowal of commercialism.
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What distinguishes Camper, at least musically, is his deference to classic R&B signifiers without kowtowing to pastiche.
Verb
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But the food justified every rave review, hour-long wait for a table, and fawning Instagram image.
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There were no megastars to fawn over.
Verb
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The Empire was a sinister, one-note shadow: faceless Storm Troopers, toadying fascistic generals, a cackling emperor, and of course Darth Vader, an enigmatic demon masked and cloaked in black.
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The only other psychological need that rivals his thirst for toadying is the pursuit of .
Verb
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For Valentine's Day 2026, the retailer released a confetti glass icon candle that shoppers drooled over.
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Fighter Josh Hokit drooled at the weigh-in in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Verb
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Its mission was to upset hierarchies, not reinforce them, and few things were more offensive to comedians than bootlicking.
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Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.
Cite this Entry
“Truckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truckle. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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