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
  • There are references to demons, being burned alive, and the duende king explicitly commands his minions to kill Jo and Raissa.
    — Parents, Parents, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Musashi becomes part of a crew that fights the Genma and Yoshitsune’s minions.
    — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of minion
Noun
  • Self also spoke to the fans and answered a few questions after practice.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2026
  • After most of the sellout crowd filed out Wednesday, one solitary Sox fan stood at his seat under the press box, shouting obscenities about the Guardians and the city of Cleveland.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Oct. 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
  • Two samples tested positive for the parasite, cyclospora, according to the FDA.
    — Youri Benadjaoud, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Continue reading … BROKEN COVENANT — Javier Milei blasts UN as 'useless' den of 'fatally arrogant parasites' in raucous speech.
    — , FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of parasite
Noun
  • Kim’s laboratory previously discovered that molten bismuth can act like a chemical sponge, cleanly capturing rare-earth elements out of liquid salts.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
  • For instance, at what point are there enough openings in a sponge for a liquid to flow through?
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 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
  • For its sycophants, LIV Golf was a new flavor in the vanilla world of professional golf.
    — Brody Miller, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Our state is under siege by the skilled sycophants who surround the president and use his base desires as cover for their own destructive agendas.
    — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 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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Cite this Entry

“Apple-polisher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polisher. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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