kowtow
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For that reason, Iran’s officers may feel no compulsion to kowtow to Beijing.
From Slate • May 7, 2026
Smaller domestic military budgets also reduce the need for companies to kowtow to politicians by maintaining unprofitable operations in their districts or supporting civilian projects.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
He’s an American native and a fiercely secular one at that, but the controversy awakens something in him, a stubborn individualism and a refusal to kowtow to ignorance.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2021
Tributary states sent semi-regular missions to the Chinese imperial court to acknowledge the superiority of the Chinese emperor and perform rituals of submission, known as the kowtow.
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2021
At his glance, Minli shrank to the ground in a humble kowtow.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
Vocabulary lists containing kowtow
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