apple-polisher

noun

as in brownnoser
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead a transparent apple-polisher whose fulsome praise fooled no one

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apple-polisher
  1. minion
  2. fan
  3. toady
  4. parasite
  5. sponge
  6. lickspittle
  7. sycophant
  8. bootlicker
Noun
  • Just as Wolverine is surrounded, he’s saved by Mystique, who’s shape-shifted herself into one of Trask’s minions.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
  • One of Danhausen’s minions took out Mysterio with a flipping dive on the outside.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of minion
Noun
  • Parton died after a brief battle with cancer, with her death triggering an outpouring of grief, from fellow Hollywood stars to everyday fans who attended makeshift memorials.
    — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Among the fans in Cottage Grove was 21-year-old Chloe Fadem, who arrived from Chicago gleefully sporting her own Keatonesque two-piece suit.
    — Brian Bull, NPR, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of fan
Noun
  • Under Homelander’s rule, spineless toadies like The Deep would be the only remaining followers.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
  • His embrace of Trump‘s endorsement and refusal to admit that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election expose him as a toady.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Definition of toady
Noun
  • Such color variations are thought to be associated with camouflage, protection against parasites and ultraviolet radiation, and the effects of pleiotropic genes (genes that influence more than one, usually unrelated, physical trait or phenotype).
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The molecule also exists on malaria parasites; the researchers had been trying to identify allergen-specific monoclonal antibodies to neutralize infection, but none could bind well to the parasite.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of parasite
Noun
  • Abrasive sponges and cleaners can leave tiny marks behind that will dull and damage the surface over time.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The sponge stick was such a normal, everyday object that it could even be used in metaphor.
    — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of sponge
Noun
  • Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Firmly in control of the nation’s massive federal apparatus, MAGA and its Republican lickspittles in Congress have thrived on chaos.
    — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of lickspittle
Noun
  • And as Netanyahu’s coalitions hardened Schleien’s programs became edgier, skewering Netanyahu sycophants in the Likud Party, anti-élitist demagogues, cultic settlers, and rabbinic mandarins.
    — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In an undersized team that already shares a worldview, the silicon sycophant doesn't catch the blind spot.
    — Matt Poepsel, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of sycophant
Noun
  • The result of this dynamic tension of bootlickers, according to Bernhard’s narrator, is the perpetual elevation and official anointment of mediocrity.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
  • If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
Definition of bootlicker
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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apple-polished
apple-polisher
apple-polishers
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Cite this Entry

“Apple-polisher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polisher. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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