as in subordinate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fussing
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
you can try kowtowing to the boss, but he'll see right through you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kowtowing
Adjective
-
Each theater navy has its subordinate submarine flotillas, surface ship flotillas, aviation units, and naval bases, the Pentagon stated in its Chinese military power report.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025 -
Therefore, all the other religions found in India thrive because of Hinduism, and are subordinate to it.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
So Alex dons a uniform, buses tables and engages in servile labor for the first time in her life.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
23 Mar. 2025
-
Trump’s servile devotion to Putin becomes the new norm overnight as Republicans cower in support of Trump’s new Putin policy.—
Bob Kustra,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
And the obsequious fealty shown to him by the Republican Party reinforces why a president running amok should never have this much power again.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Republicans insist Zelenskyy hasn’t been sufficiently obsequious to the United States, which is a point Vance hammered.—
The Editorial Board,
Orange County Register,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The problem of a very hierarchical party is that not a lot of alternative figures emerge because there’s the leader and only the leader, and everyone else is just subservient to the leader.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2025
-
And, when the U.S. government began requesting the extradition of the leaders, the Salvadoran courts, subservient to Bukele, repeatedly found excuses to avoid handing them over.—
Danielle Mackey,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Nonetheless, the film’s tension is almost immediately diffused by a slavish devotion to the facts.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Yet in Kim’s slavish dedication to the Jeju haenyeo’s testimony, many questions that arise in this setting are left unexplored.—
Geoffrey Bunting,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
The twist offered in this tale is that this dutiful and obedient AI proceeds to gobble up all the available resources on earth to maximally achieve this goal.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
The twist offered in this tale is that this dutiful and obedient AI proceeds to gobble up all the available resources on earth to maximally achieve this goal.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Your value lies in being pretty, silent, submissive and unfailingly supportive of men.—
Marie Bostwick,
People.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Trump was demanding deference from Zelenskyy to show his inferior and submissive position as a recipient of U.S. aid and military support.—
Shannon Bow O'Brien,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Women provided cheap, docile, and uncomplaining behind-the-scenes labor in an expensive industry whose glamour was all in the hardware.—
Constance Grady,
Vox,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Smith derailed Vitor Petrino in May 2024 when the veteran made the Brazilian KO artist look docile, defeating him easily in the first round via submission.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
19 Feb. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Kowtowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kowtowing. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share