as in to honey
to praise too much
a flunky who shamelessly butters up the boss
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Recent Examples of butter up
Ben spends the afternoon buttering up Ellie and praising her cake-icing skills, and even gives her the task of decorating the wedding cake.
—
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Some buttering up in your prompt can likely produce this.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Enter Rutte, who knew Trump from his time as Prime Minister, and who got to work buttering up the American president.
—Tom Nagorski, Time, 18 July 2025
Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
Anderson, currently a free agent, could be buttering up the Commanders to get a contract offer, but there is some truth to his statement.
—Victor Williams, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
The preview for The Muppet Show reveals special guest Sabrina Carpenter buttering up Miss Piggy backstage.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Some buttering up in your prompt can likely produce this.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Enter Rutte, who knew Trump from his time as Prime Minister, and who got to work buttering up the American president.
—Tom Nagorski, Time, 18 July 2025
Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
Anderson, currently a free agent, could be buttering up the Commanders to get a contract offer, but there is some truth to his statement.
—Victor Williams, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
The preview for The Muppet Show reveals special guest Sabrina Carpenter buttering up Miss Piggy backstage.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butter up
Verb
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Her voice, languid and honeyed, can glide over sensual R&B, bouncing reggaetón, shimmering pop or nostalgic jazz.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
16 Oct. 2025
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Those harmonies — simultaneously honeyed and gravelly, providing just enough support without overshadowing, yet so powerful and full of potential — echoes Whitten.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
2 July 2024
Verb
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Several celebrities, including Ilana Glazer and Uzo Aduba, congratulated the couple in the comments section.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
25 May 2026
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After congratulating each other on the mound, Aztecs players linked arms on the field, turned to their fans in the stands and sang the school’s fight song.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 May 2026
Verb
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There was only one other visitor, another mother stroking another small head.—
Fran Moreland Johns,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
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On that bed my mother would stroke my hair and hands.—
Chiara Barzini,
Vogue,
9 May 2026
Verb
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Badly run local governments, keen to massage numbers as well as find avenues for the huge oversupply of concrete and steel, compounded the problem.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
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To heat, microwave in short intervals, massaging the rice around in between.—
Caroline Lubinsky,
Martha Stewart,
18 May 2026
Verb
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Another shopper praised its significant support.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
PEOPLE,
24 May 2026
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Drivers spoke at length on Saturday about his accomplishments, praising his toughness, competitive spirit and penchant for speaking his mind — all of which earned him a reputation as NASCAR’s villain.—
Steve Reed,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
Verb
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When Vargas concluded, the Cannes audience applauded mid-movie.—
Jada Yuan,
HollywoodReporter,
19 May 2026
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Both Judge Lang and Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden applauded the victim’s courage.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Manager Dave Roberts has commended Sasaki for being more open-minded about feedback and change this season.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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Pat O'Donnell, executive director of SAG-AFTRA's Washington-Mid Atlantic Local, which represents hundreds of NPR journalists, commends the network's approach to making job cuts.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
18 May 2026
Verb
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The button-up shirt dress is lightweight with a flattering silhouette and elastic waist that adds the right amount of definition without feeling uncomfortably tight.—
Jill Layton,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
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The Elvissa is a shrunken, '90s-esque oval shape with curved metal arms that add architectural edge in a petite size that's great for flattering smaller faces.—
Kelsey Legg,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Butter up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butter%20up. Accessed 26 May. 2026.
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