as in fussing
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truckling
Verb
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Ever the dedicated mother, Stacy runs to her adult daughter’s aid, fussing at her for not using a driver for her errands.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026 -
Your son is fussing in his car seat.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Infantino’s gesture might strike people unacquainted with World Cup history as shamelessly fawning.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
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With the Republican Congress fawning at his feet, the ideal of democracy that the will of the people governs the nation is being buried under multimedia waves of the autocratic ambition of wealth.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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The public demand was made based on a social media post from right-wing journalist Laura Loomer, who pointed to a video in which Rice vowed to hold companies accountable for kowtowing to Trump if Democrats regain power in the federal government.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Predators respond with head shaking, gaping, drooling, and frantic licking.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
13 Apr. 2026
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But Cremily won over teams and venues with a story worth drooling over.—
Sam Blum,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Its mission was to upset hierarchies, not reinforce them, and few things were more offensive to comedians than bootlicking.—
Robert Lynch,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Behind the scenes, Swalwell was courting attention.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
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And that’s a risk that The Audacity is courting in a premiere that doesn’t care yet about turning its satirical targets into antiheroes, which is what Glatzer was doing on Better Call Saul and Succession.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
12 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Truckling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truckling. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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