kowtow
v.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.
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.
From either Cantonese 叩頭 /叩头 (kau³ tau⁴) or Mandarin 叩頭 /叩头 (kòutóu). Literally, “knock head”.
The verb is intransitive and typically takes the preposition 'to'.
He kowtowed his managerHe kowtowed to his managerKowtow is an intransitive verb and requires the preposition 'to' before the person being addressed.