curry favor

VERB

butter up

Synonyms

WEAK

back-scratch bootlick brown-nose cajole court dance attendance on fall all over fawn over flatter kiss up to pay court to suck up to sweet-talk toady to win over

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

President Trump has a reputation for trying to curry favor with investors.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

Both Paramount and Netflix sought to curry favor with the White House, with Paramount winning out.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Foreign leaders have long used presidential visits to curry favor with the man in the Oval Office.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025

In contrast, she was wary of Kennedy — too smooth, too willing to alter his backstory to curry favor.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2025

“And people who want to curry favor with his father,” Simmon added.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss