as in to curry favor
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a departmental supervisor who apple-polishes shamelessly whenever higher-ups are about
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apple-polish
Verb
-
No crying or fussing or squirming.—
Danielle Pergament,
SELF,
10 Apr. 2025 -
Really good, and if you’re not fussed about mod cons or hybrid tech, one can be sat on your driveway for just £18,850 ($24,388).—
Matthew MacConnell,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
He is drooled over by the biggest clubs around.—
Chris Waugh,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Symptoms from scorpion stings — such as burning at the sting site, drooling.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Lots of people coming, knocking on his door, fawning, hoping for a good deal.—
Terry Gross,
NPR,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Lots of people coming, knocking on his door, fawning, hoping for a good deal.—
Terry Gross,
NPR,
9 Apr. 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
“Apple-polish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apple-polish. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share