adulating
Heaping on flattery
Adulating is showering someone with excessive praise or admiration, often to the point of fawning.
The word carries a whiff of insincerity or sycophancy—adulating fans might worship a celebrity beyond reason, or an employee might adulate a boss to curry favor.
The press spent years adulating him before turning critical.
Excessively praising, often insincerely
- complimentingVoicing approval or admiration
- extollingPraising with enthusiasm
- laudingVoicing high esteem
- glorifyingPraising to excess
exalting · lionizing · eulogizing · acclaiming · applauding · commending · honoring · celebrating
Excessive admiration of someone
- veneratingRegarding with deep respect
- reveringRegarding with deep respect
- deifyingDeclaring someone a god
- cult followingPassionate niche audience
devotion · adoring · glorifying · exalting · fetishizing · blind devotion · starstruck · besotted
Demeaning self-abasement before another
- kowtowingSubmissive display of respect
- prostratingLying flat in submission
- cringingShrinking in discomfort
- toadyingObsequious behavior seeking favor
bootlicking · slavish · obsequious · sycophantic · servile · subservient · deferential · obeisant
flattering
Excessively praising, often insincerely
- complimentingVoicing approval or admiration
- extollingPraising with enthusiasm
- laudingVoicing high esteem
glorifying · exalting · lionizing · eulogizing · acclaiming · applauding · commending · honoring · celebrating · paying tribute
idolizing
Excessive admiration of someone
- veneratingRegarding with deep respect
- reveringRegarding with deep respect
- deifyingDeclaring someone a god
cult following · devotion · adoring · glorifying · exalting · fetishizing · blind devotion · starstruck · besotted · infatuated
groveling
Demeaning self-abasement before another
- kowtowingSubmissive display of respect
- prostratingLying flat in submission
- cringingShrinking in discomfort
toadying · bootlicking · slavish · obsequious · sycophantic · servile · subservient · deferential · obeisant · meek
adulatingcriticizing
Voicing negative assessment
condemning · denouncing · censuring · disparaging · excoriating