Synonyms for kowtow
ˈkaʊˈtaʊ, -ˌtaʊ, ˈkoʊ-kow·tow

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1. kowtow, kotowverb

   a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission

   Synonyms:
   kotow

2. scrape, kowtow, genuflectverb

   bend the knees and bow in a servile manner

   Synonyms:
   scrape up, truckle, scratch up, bootlick, fawn, come up, kotow, suck up, scrape, scratch, toady, grate, skin, genuflect

3. fawn, toady, truckle, bootlick, kowtow, kotow, suck upverb

   try to gain favor by cringing or flattering

   "He is always kowtowing to his boss"

   Synonyms:
   soak up, sidle up, cower, cotton up, sop up, bootlick, fawn, cozy up, imbibe, crawl, draw, grovel, shine up, absorb, cringe, take up, truckle, take in, suck, play up, kotow, scrape, creep, genuflect, suck up, toady

Matched Categories

1. • Bow

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How to use kowtow in a sentence?

1. Clarence Thomas:

   As a black American, as far as Im concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves... and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you -- you will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree.

2. Mehmet Oz:

   That is really dangerous, because now, all of a sudden, everyone’s got to kowtow to one opinion.

3. Marsha Blackburn:

   I will never kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party.

4. Clarence Thomas:

   This is a circus. It's a national disgrace. And from my standpoint as a Black American, as far as I'm concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity Blacks, who in any way deign to think for themselves, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured, by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree.

5. Jim Dean:

   Clinton's economic policy speech reflects a very clear understanding that the Democratic Party and the vast majority of the American people want a president who will fight alongside … Elizabeth Warren and refuse to kowtow to wealthy and powerful interests on Wall Street.