sucking (up to)

present participle of suck (up to)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sucking (up to)
Verb
  • But there were – among the fawning compliments and the conviction an elusive peace was near – bits of good news for Ukraine.
    Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
  • But on the scoreboard and perhaps in the eyes of football fans and perhaps even the still-fawning North Carolina administration?
    Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But coaxing nematodes is tricky and time-consuming, so Ortega-Jiménez collaborated with Ranjiangshang Ran, a postdoc studying fluid mechanics at Emory University, who ran computer simulations of thousands more jump trajectories.
    Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Amidst the pandemic, sitting down at my machine was one reliable way of coaxing order from chaos.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Flattering, placating, and kowtowing only seem to spark escalating demands while defiance risks retaliation.
    Jeff Kingston, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Pushback by viewers in Sinclair and Nexstar’s ABC markets, and the perception that the companies are kowtowing to the FCC chairman’s anti-liberal ideology, could be a factor to lead the companies to relent.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But, rather than give up, Azel became a pickleball advocate, tirelessly educating, lobbying and cajoling politicians, park directors and anyone else who would listen about the incredible growth of the sport nation-wide.
    Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Touches five and six are merely the cajoling preamble to the pièce de résistance, aka touch seven, a piercing through ball which splits defender Goncalo Inacio and backtracking forward Geny Catamo like a warm bread knife through a ciabatta roll straight out of Mama’s oven.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 2 Oct. 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.

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Cite this Entry

“Sucking (up to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sucking%20%28up%20to%29. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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