as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
the kind of office in which people feel they have to bootlick in order to get ahead
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Recent Examples of bootlick
Those who delay this fate the longest are bootlicking mediocrities — the survival of the sycophants.
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Michael Gerson, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Mar. 2018
Michael Gerson, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootlick
Verb
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Not all Cybertruck owners will be too fussed about that, though.Carlton Reid, WIRED, 25 Nov. 2024
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The gizmo also includes haptic alerts that can wake you—but not your partner—if your child is fussing.Chris Stokel-Walker, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
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It has also been suggested that Kyiv should agree not to pursue NATO membership for 20 years, a stipulation that critics of this plan argue kowtows to Russian President Vladimir Putin.Caitlin McFall, Fox News, 11 Nov. 2024
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López Obrador kowtowed to Trump’s threats of punitive tariffs on Mexican exports unless Mexico did more to stem the flow of Central American migrants.Arturo Sarukhan, Foreign Affairs, 18 Feb. 2022
Verb
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Hamlet’s toadying friends, the hangers-on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are Izzard’s own talking hands, popping up to face her like a pair of Muppets.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2024
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This is the aspect of his production that made his reputation but is sometimes denigrated as superficial and toadying.Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023
Verb
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But the saucier iterations are what viewers are drooling over on TikTok.Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
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If ingested in large amounts, the sap can cause vomiting, drooling or diarrhea.Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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As much as Trump loves being fawned over, the specrtre of so many prospective rivals caving in so quickly creates its own sort of dilemma for a leader who craves conflict to sustain his Presidency and his political movement.Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2024
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This man’s cluelessness in the face of Amelia’s discomfort with this overly fawning gift is giggle-worthy.Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Bootlick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootlick. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
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