Synonyms and antonyms of To try hard to please or impress someone in British Thesaurus

talk the talk ()

to talk convincingly about doing something rather than actually doing it

charm (verb)

to deliberately make someone like you so that they do what you want them to do

court (verb)

to try to impress or please someone because you want them to help you in some way

be on your best behaviour ()

to behave very well, usually because you want to please someone

butter up ()

to be nice to someone so that they will help or support you

propitiate (verb)

formal to try to stop someone from being angry with you by doing something to please them

suck up (showing disapproval)

showing disapproval to be very nice to someone in authority so that they will treat you well

pander to ()

to do or say what someone wants in order to please them, even though you know it is not right

kowtow (verb)

showing disapproval to try very hard to please someone, in a way that other people find annoying

crawl (verb)

showing disapproval to try extremely hard to please someone, in order to gain an advantage, in a way that makes other people not respect you

balancing act (noun)

the process of trying to achieve something that different groups will all be satisfied with

be all mouth ()

to say things just to impress people and not really intend to do the things that you say

be all things to all men/people ()

to please everyone, especially by doing many different things or by changing your behaviour a lot

brown-nose (verb)

informalshowing disapproval to try very hard to please someone important or powerful, for example by agreeing with them all the time, in a way that annoys other people

curry favour (with someone) ()

to try to make someone like you or give you something

fawn over ()

to be extremely nice to someone more important than you because you want them to like you or give you something

ingratiate yourself with someone ()

to try to get someone’s approval by doing or saying things that will please them

keep someone sweet ()

to do good things for someone so that they will continue to support you or to be friendly to you

kiss someone’s arse ()

to be nice to someone because you want them to help you

kiss up to (showing disapproval)

showing disapproval to try to please a powerful person, because you want them to do something for you

lay it on (a bit) thick (informal)

informal to make something such as your admiration for someone or their achievements seem greater or more important than they really are in order to impress someone

lick someone’s boots ()

to try too hard to please someone in authority

not to be outdone ()

used for saying that someone is trying to prove that they can do something as well as or better than someone else