brown-nosed
Sought favor obsequiously
Brown-nosed describes someone who has ingratiated themselves through excessive flattery or servile behavior toward authority figures.
The image is of having one's nose discolored from kissing someone's rear end: He got promoted because he brown-nosed the boss for years.
The term is crude but not especially vulgar.
Excessive insincere flattery
- bootlickerServile flatterer of superiors
- toadyObsequious flatterer seeking favor
- yes-manUncritical agreeable subordinate
- apple-polisherObsequious flatterer of authority
suck-up · flattering · groveling · servile · obsequious · unctuous · kowtowing · ingratiating
fawning
Excessive insincere flattery
- bootlickerServile flatterer of superiors
- toadyObsequious flatterer seeking favor
- yes-manUncritical agreeable subordinate
apple-polisher · suck-up · flattering · groveling · servile · obsequious · unctuous · kowtowing · ingratiating · ass-kisser
- fawnedgroveled, kowtowed, toadied, flattered, curried favor
brown-noseddefiant
Openly resisting control
rebellious · insubordinate · disrespectful · talked back · stood up to
brown-nosedsincere
Genuinely felt, not feigned
honest · straightforward · candid · forthright · authentic
brown, nose, browned, browning, browns, brownish, nosed, noses, nosing