Ingratiate vs Kowtow - What's the difference?
ingratiate | kowtow |
(reflexive) To bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please him or her.
* 1849 , , Shirley , ch. 15:
* 1903 , , The Way of All Flesh , ch. 58:
* 2007 July 9, , "
To recommend; to render easy or agreeable.
* , "Sermon XIII" in Miscellaneous Theological Works of Henry Hammond, Volume 3 (1850 edition),
As verbs the difference between ingratiate and kowtow
is that ingratiate is (reflexive) to bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please him or her while kowtow is to kneel and bow low enough to touch one’s forehead to the ground.As a noun kowtow is
the act of kowtowing.ingratiate
English
Verb
- [H]e considered this offering an homage to his merits, and an attempt on the part of the heiress to ingratiate herself into his priceless affections.
- [H]e would pat the children on the head when he saw them on the stairs, and ingratiate himself with them as far as he dared.
Why Maliki Is Still Around," Time (retrieved 26 May 2014):
- He ingratiated himself with the Kurdish bloc when he stood up to aggressive Turkish rhetoric about the Kurdish border in May.
p. 283 (Google preview):
- What difficulty would it [the love of Christ] not ingratiate to us?