i Register
In some senses, kowtow is marked as figuratively, historical. Watch for register when choosing this word.
kowtow
/ˈkaʊˌtaʊ/
verb 3noun 1
Collocations
2VERB + KOWTOW
perform
KOWTOW + NOUN
altar, jon
Definitions
verb
1
To kneel and bow low enough to touch one’s forehead to the ground.
When the weather turned cold, the tears that he shed would become frozen like veins; the blood on his forehead from kowtowing would also freeze and would not drip.
2
To grovel, act in a very submissive manner; to show obeisance to (someone or something) in such a manner; to bow.
I suppose you're going to be nice to Odie and kowtow to Jon and lick the mailman's boots! I don't like you already.
The letter to Razin contained another thought that preoccupied Stalin in the first months after the war: the need to avoid “kowtowing to the West,” including showing “unwarranted respect” for the “military authorities of Germany.”
3
To bow very deeply.
noun
1
The act of kowtowing.
Three elders dressed in their long silk ceremonial gowns perform the kowtow before the altar in their clan ancestral hall.
Thesaurus
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
401
When the weather turned cold, the tears that he shed would become frozen like veins; the blood on his forehead from kowtowing would also freeze and would not drip.
Wiktionary02
I suppose you're going to be nice to Odie and kowtow to Jon and lick the mailman's boots! I don't like you already.
Wiktionary03
The letter to Razin contained another thought that preoccupied Stalin in the first months after the war: the need to avoid “kowtowing to the West,” including showing “unwarranted respect” for the “mil
Wiktionary04
Three elders dressed in their long silk ceremonial gowns perform the kowtow before the altar in their clan ancestral hall.
WiktionaryUsage Notes
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