as in subordinate
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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In China, for example, the constitution states that everything in the governmental system, including the courts, is subordinate to the leadership of the Communist Party.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
25 Mar. 2025 -
The email was addressed to all subordinate commanders, and the subject line read in all capital letters: URGENT SAFETY OF FLIGHT ISSUE.—
Greg Wehner,
Fox News,
15 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
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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
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Listen to this article Mayor Michelle Wu, just a week after what her obsequious supporters hailed as a virtuoso performance before a hostile congressional oversight panel, finds herself suddenly under a harsh federal microscope.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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More importantly to the court proceedings that would follow in later decades, the group stressed that women are subservient to men, a belief that William wholeheartedly embraced, his ex-wife says.—
Justin Wingerter,
The Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2025
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So essentially, Hera takes this subservient position as a compromise to keep reality from crumbling.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Nonetheless, the film’s tension is almost immediately diffused by a slavish devotion to the facts.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2025
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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
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In this framing, children are not autonomous individuals worthy of respect, but future standard-bearers of their parents’ values—which means that the greatest sign of a mother’s success is producing obedient children.—
Hannah Giorgis,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2025
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His oxygen tank sat at his knees like an obedient mastiff.—
Brandon Taylor,
The Atlantic,
4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Washington has become the court of Nero: an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers, and a buffoon on ketamine tasked with purging the civil service.—
Claude Malhuret,
The Atlantic,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The once docile Jamie, convinced he’s being manipulated, becomes testy and volatile.—
Inkoo Kang,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2025
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Instead, inflation expectations remained relatively docile — rising only modestly, and falling quickly once inflation began to ease — and the Fed was able to bring down inflation without causing a big increase in unemployment.—
Colby Smith,
New York Times,
25 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Kowtowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kowtowing. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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