buttering up 1 of 2

noun

Definition of buttering upnext
as in soft soap

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

buttering up

2 of 2

verb

present participle of butter up
as in sucking (up to)
to praise too much a flunky who shamelessly butters up the boss

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for buttering up
  1. soft soap
  2. butter
  3. sweet talk
  4. endearment
  5. sycophancy
  6. applauding
  7. flattering
Noun
  • People should wash any skin that comes into contact with the slurry with water and soft soap, before using a hand cream to avoid dryness and cracking.
    Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 2 Sep. 2024
  • Most of the questions aimed at the ironic American director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas were less softballs than soft soap, with reporters as interested in Scorsese’s favorite food — his mother’s lasagna recipe — as the movies in his peerless filmography.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
Definition of soft soap
Noun
  • Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water. Make Sauce In the same skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
    Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Dec. 2024
  • The bread is served warm in a special bag with butter and olive oil alongside it.
    Keyla Vasconcellos, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of butter
Noun
  • From there, according to the report, the sweet talk quickly moves to messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Google Chat or Telegram.
    Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
  • Just in case that gave Reba a leg up, don't let her sweet talk you.
    Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2024
Definition of sweet talk
Noun
  • What may be a term of endearment in one context can be perceived differently in another.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
  • In a guest spot on the Good Mythical Morning podcast, the couple offered hilarious insight about how the mother of three draws the line regarding terms of endearment.
    Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of endearment
Noun
  • A certain amount of sycophancy toward the more bizarre elements of the coalition is also common.
    Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 25 Nov. 2024
  • Other tests showed that models can show what’s called a sycophancy bias — the tendency of an LLM to backpedal on a correct answer to please the user.
    Stephen Ornes, Quanta Magazine, 8 Nov. 2024
Definition of sycophancy
Verb
  • Join us in applauding this young hero.
    Melissa Rudy, Fox News, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Jeff Bezos is applauding his fiancée Lauren Sánchez for her eventful year!
    Charna Flam, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Definition of applauding
Verb
  • For the winter, a turtleneck under a nice wool suit creates a flattering silhouette on most men.
    Brett F. Braley-Palko, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
  • With a form-flattering high-rise silhouette and flared hem that elongates the legs, these jeans epitomize statement everyday wearability.
    Angela Lei, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of flattering
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near buttering up

butteries

buttering up

butters up

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Cite this Entry

“Buttering up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buttering%20up. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

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