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Glite Dictionary
🙇 To obey too much 🛏️ A low bed
to truckle

to truckle

1 9.9
To act too obediently to someone in power
  • verb
  • /ˈtrʌkəl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : humillarse
  • "I never truckled;

Examples

  • While others were truckling, Bumper sets an example for every libertarian of how one ought to live one's life.

    Blog text (15)

  • He had to truckle to his boss's unreasonable demands to keep his job.

  • But you truckle at his boot.

    12 Years a Slave (2013)

  • There was nothing ingratiating about their attitude, and they never truckled for attention.

    Academic text (2010)

  • "I'm not too proud to truckle," said Reith, "if it would do any good—which it won't."

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Rather than standing up for his ideas, he chose to truckle to the authority figure in the meeting.

  • Many small businesses feel they must truckle to big corporations to survive.

Synonyms

to suck up
vsto truckle
  • Informal
26 8.0

To praise someone to get their approval

is submissive without the clear insincere praise motive
to fawn
vsto truckle
25 7.7

Act very friendly and praise someone to gain their favor

is submissive by obedience rather than mainly through flattering
to kowtow
vsto truckle
12 9.2

To behave very obediently to please a person in power

is overly obedient but less extreme in submissiveness
to bow and scrape
vsto truckle
  • Archaic
3 9.4

Behave too politely and humbly to please someone

is submissive generally rather than done mainly to gain approval
to toady
vsto truckle
1 9.1

Flatter and obey someone in power to get their favor

is submissive mainly from obedience rather than servile flattery
to bootlick
vsto truckle
  • Offensive
1 8.7

To praise or obey someone in power to get their support

focuses on obedience rather than praise when seeking favor

Antonyms

to assert
229 3.9

To clearly and firmly say your needs or opinions

to defy
178 3.7

Openly refuse to obey someone or seem to resist a force like time

to rebel
48 4.1

To act against the government or people in power

Compounds

truckle bed
  • Archaic
9.6

A low bed on wheels that you pull out from under another bed

How Submissive

to kowtow
12 9.2
to grovel
42 7.4
to truckle
  • Archaic
1 9.9
to acquiesce
  • Formal
20 8.4
to submit
187 4.1
to comply
332 3.8

Surface Forms

truckle infinitive
trucking present participle
truckles third person singular
truckled past
truckled past participle

Etymology

A helpful way to remember the verb truckle is to imagine making yourself small like a rolling truckle bed that is pushed under another; to truckle to someone is to 'make yourself small' and be overly obedient to them.