brownnosing

brown-nose

B b

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [broun-nohz]
- /ˈbraʊnˌnoʊz/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [broun-nohz]
- /ˈbraʊnˌnoʊz/

Definitions of brownnosing word

uncountable noun brownnosing If you accuse someone of brownnosing, you are saying in a rather offensive way that they are agreeing with someone important in order to get their support. 3
verb without object brownnosing to curry favor; behave obsequiously. 1
verb with object brownnosing to seek favors from (a person) in an obsequious manner; fawn over. 1
noun brownnosing Also, brown-noser. a toady; sycophant. 1
verb brownnosing present participle of brownnose. 0

See all 5 definitions of brownnosing

Information block about the term

Origin of brownnosing

First appearance:

before 1935

One of the 8% newest English words

First recorded in 1935-40; brown + nose

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Brownnosing

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Brownnosing

brownnosing popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 32% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

brownnosing usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for brownnosing

adj brownnosing

adulatory — If someone makes an adulatory comment about someone, they praise them and show their admiration of them.
compliable — compliant
fawning — a young deer, especially an unweaned one.

adjective brownnosing

obsequious — characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning: an obsequious bow.

All 4 Synonyms of brownnosing