Word
kowtow
Phoneticskow·tow
US/ˈkaʊˈtaʊ/
UK/kˈaʊtaʊ/
Definition
v. to act in a very humble way toward someone powerful because you want to please them or are afraid of them. It often suggests you are giving up your own dignity to show respect.
v. to act in an excessively subservient manner; to show obsequious deference. Historically refers to the Chinese custom of kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground as a sign of respect.
Examples
“He refuses to kowtow to the demands of his boss.”
“The local government was accused of kowtowing to large corporations instead of protecting the interests of the residents.”
“While diplomatic protocol requires a certain level of formality, the ambassador was careful not to kowtow to the regime, maintaining a firm stance on human rights throughout the negotiations.”
Examples
simple
“He refuses to kowtow to the demands of his boss.”
contextual
“The local government was accused of kowtowing to large corporations instead of protecting the interests of the residents.”
complex
“While diplomatic protocol requires a certain level of formality, the ambassador was careful not to kowtow to the regime, maintaining a firm stance on human rights throughout the negotiations.”
Usage
The verb is intransitive and typically takes the preposition 'to'.
Pitfall
He kowtowed his manager
He kowtowed to his manager
Kowtow is an intransitive verb and requires the preposition 'to' before the person being addressed.
Etymology
From either Cantonese 叩頭 /叩头 (kau³ tau⁴) or Mandarin 叩頭 /叩头 (kòutóu). Literally, “knock head”.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/kowtow