glad-handing
Politician's warm welcome
Glad-handing is the practice of greeting people with exaggerated warmth and friendliness, typically for political or social advantage.
The term evokes a politician working a crowd, shaking hands and flashing smiles with calculated enthusiasm: He spent the evening glad-handing donors at the fundraiser.
The connotation is insincere—charm deployed as a tool rather than genuine warmth.
Organized effort toward goal
- candidatePerson seeking selection
- rallyGathering for a cause
- stumpTrunk base after felling
- constituentsParts of a whole
lobbyist · fundraiser · donor · photo-op · meet-and-greet · caucus · convention · incumbent
Casual social interaction
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
- socializingEngaging with others recreationally
- receptionAct of receiving guests
- mixerCombines ingredients or people
meet-and-greet · contacts · connections · introductions · cultivating · affable · gregarious · sociable
Feigning belief or feeling
- phonyFraudulent person or thing
- fakeNot the real thing
- hollowEmpty within
- superficialLacking depth or substance
feigned · affected · pretense · facade · pandering · unconvincing · smarmy · slick
Servilely flattering
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- obsequiousServilely attentive to superiors
- unctuousExcessively and insincerely earnest
- bootlickingServile flattery for advantage
brownnosing · toadying · apple-polishing · groveling · servile · adulatory · blandishing · wheedling
Skill at impressive presentation
- theatricalExaggeratedly emotional for effect
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
- grandstandingPerforming to impress onlookers
- posturingInsincere behavior for effect
charisma · spectacle · rehearsed · staged · flamboyant · pageantry · ceremonial · public-relations
campaign
Organized effort toward goal
constituents · lobbyist · fundraiser · donor · photo-op · meet-and-greet · caucus · convention · incumbent · electorate
mingling
Casual social interaction
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
- socializingEngaging with others recreationally
- receptionAct of receiving guests
mixer · meet-and-greet · contacts · connections · introductions · cultivating · affable · gregarious · sociable · circulating
insincere
Feigning belief or feeling
superficial · feigned · affected · pretense · facade · pandering · unconvincing · smarmy · slick · glib
sycophantic
Servilely flattering
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- obsequiousServilely attentive to superiors
- unctuousExcessively and insincerely earnest
bootlicking · brownnosing · toadying · apple-polishing · groveling · servile · adulatory · blandishing · wheedling · ingratiating
showmanship
Skill at impressive presentation
- theatricalExaggeratedly emotional for effect
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
- grandstandingPerforming to impress onlookers
posturing · charisma · spectacle · rehearsed · staged · flamboyant · pageantry · ceremonial · public-relations · optics
- campaign jargonstump speech, talking points, sound bites, soundbite, soundbites
- sycophancyfawning, toadying, groveling, kowtowing, brown-nosing
- schmoozingschmooze, schmoozing, hobnobbing, mingling, socializing
- flatteryflatter, praise, flattery, compliment, compliments
- insincerityinsincerity, phoniness, fakeness, falseness, pretense
- persuasionpersuade, persuasion, persuasive, convince, convincing
glad-handingcoldness
Low temperature state
aloofness · standoffishness · frostiness · iciness · reserve
glad-handingkeeping to oneself
Staying socially isolated
wallflower behavior · reclusiveness · antisocial behavior · avoidance · withdrawal
hand, handle, handled, handling, handshake, gladden, glands, gladdening, gladder