1
as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a young lieutenant constantly sucking up to the commanding officer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in flunkey
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
I'd like to give my boss a birthday present, but I don't want to look like a shameless suck-up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of suck (up)
Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024
Back in the dawn of the Trump era — just prior to his 2017 inauguration — the line of would-be suck-ups queuing up for face time with the president-elect included a man with a distinguished name.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2023
Office suck-ups, popularized by television characters like Dwight Schrute in The Office and Tom Wambsgans in Succession, typically take their cues from those in charge.
—Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023
Still, gossip mongers and suck-ups won’t go away unless managers remove the incentives to such behavior, while rewarding positive actions like collaboration.
—Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023
As a shameless suck-up with a remarkable ability to fail upward, Tom is on track to conquer the world.
—Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2023
Noun
To be sure, plenty of companies are still committed to DEI programs, and not all executives are morphing into insufferable suck-ups.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024
Back in the dawn of the Trump era — just prior to his 2017 inauguration — the line of would-be suck-ups queuing up for face time with the president-elect included a man with a distinguished name.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2023
Office suck-ups, popularized by television characters like Dwight Schrute in The Office and Tom Wambsgans in Succession, typically take their cues from those in charge.
—Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023
Still, gossip mongers and suck-ups won’t go away unless managers remove the incentives to such behavior, while rewarding positive actions like collaboration.
—Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023
As a shameless suck-up with a remarkable ability to fail upward, Tom is on track to conquer the world.
—Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suck (up)
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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Beyond just my daughter, me, and the occasional friend she’s seen drinking from an Owala, Amazon shoppers love the brand, too.Terri Peters, Parents, 16 Dec. 2024
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The American Heart Association (AHA) advises against the idea of starting to drink alcohol just to try to prevent heart disease.Peter Burke, Fox News, 16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Cruise, which previously operated as a subsidiary, will now be fully absorbed by GM.Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 11 Dec. 2024
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That includes absorbing the likely loss of Russia’s two military bases in Syria, and accepting what analysts call the crushing defeat of Kremlin ally Iran.Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, under white powder and red eye shadow like Joker sycophants.Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
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But that progress will be harder to forge if Trump follows through on his vow to mass fire civil servants and replace them with sycophants.Kenny Torrella, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
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
Noun
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Of course, being a junior senator and attaching your name to legislation that has little chance of being enacted—none of those have bills passed—is very different from being Vice-President and chief lickspittle to Trump.John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
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Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 7 July 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
Noun
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Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser all drop by to add their touches to an underworld majordomo, a dogged BPD Special Ops officer, a political toady and Boston’s single dumbest thug, respectively.David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2024
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Even meteorologists would face an uncertain future, given that Project 2025 also calls for replacing tens of thousands of federal workers with political toadies beholden only to the White House.Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 28 July 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near suck (up)
Cite this Entry
“Suck (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suck%20%28up%29. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
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