How to Use kowtow in a Sentence

kowtow

verb
  • Maybe there’s a lesson here in not kowtowing to the diehards in advance.
    — Vulture, 25 Aug. 2023
  • As such, employers will have to kowtow to workers to an extent.
    — Byruth Umoh, Fortune, 6 Dec. 2022
  • Sensing the vibe shift, workers will wake up to the fact that businesses won’t kowtow to their workers.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2023
  • His refusal to kowtow to the traditions of Congress was writ large.
    — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 12 July 2022
  • To her surprise, though, Julius has changed and has stopped kowtowing to the rich and powerful.
    — Chancellor Agard, EW.com, 14 May 2020
  • And yet one Western leader seems quite taken with the idea of forcing private firms to kowtow.
    — Fortune, 24 Aug. 2019
  • Sensing the vibe shift, workers will wake up to the fact that businesses won’t kowtow to their employees.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023
  • Kudos to those who refused to kowtow to the fears that drunkards might declare the tree to be their own private Everest.
    — al, 5 Feb. 2020
  • This is the team pushing Biden not to kowtow to fearmongering about deficits and inflation.
    — Bryce Covert, The New Republic, 4 May 2021
  • Like Macartney, Mrs May would prefer to get all this without kowtowing.
    — The Economist, 31 Jan. 2018
  • But credit Texas for refusing to kowtow to the Big 12’s supreme power.
    — Nick Moyle, San Antonio Express-News, 1 Mar. 2021
  • Certainly, Cathay won't be the last company to kowtow to Beijing.
    — Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2019
  • But outcry against the company for kowtowing to the Chinese government has been harsh.
    — Patrick Shanley, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2019
  • The head of the department is a micromanager and everyone kowtows to him.
    — Roxane Gay, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2023
  • Disney was also forced to kowtow to Trump to the tune of $15 million back in December.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 16 Sep. 2025
  • At the White House, the unwell billionaire rambles, spews insults at those who refuse to kowtow and dozes off in meetings.
    — Chicago Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Another highlight found Kroeger, wearing a lightning bolt t-shirt, kowtowing to the rabid crowd.
    — John Benson, cleveland, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Compromised himself in the moment, been less than human, not having to hold on to his dignity so much, and just kowtowed to this guy and got himself home.
    — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
  • The citizens of Florida deserve better than someone who kowtows to the gun lobby.
    — Lucy McBath, Essence.com, 17 June 2017
  • The company was met with backlash and accused of kowtowing to the Chinese government.
    — Patrick Shanley, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Definitely won't hold my breath and will expect futher (SIC) kowtowing.
    — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 4 Jan. 2018
  • And she was indeed defined by a steely independent streak that did not kowtow to outsiders, whether established civil rights figures or the leader of the free world.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2021
  • The publisher’s critics said Scholastic was kowtowing to censors.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Cutting ties from Maxim’s, as protesters demand, could anger Beijing, as it would be seen as kowtowing to their demands.
    — Grady McGregor, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2019
  • Just as appearing to stand up to the authorities can burnish corporate reputations, seeming to kowtow to them can do harm.
    — The Economist, 18 July 2019
  • The company doesn’t treat car buyers like second class citizens, something Detroit is becoming adept at in its rush to kowtow to truck buyers at all costs.
    — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 7 Aug. 2021
  • Western organizations doing business in or with China have had to decide whether to kowtow, stand tall, or crouch somewhere in between.
    — Robert Zafft, Forbes, 21 June 2021
  • Commercial radio may be frustrating, but at this stage in a career that has seen millions in sales - and dollars -- Keith is above kowtowing to anyone.
    — Chuck Yarborough, cleveland.com, 25 Aug. 2017
  • But India remains the world’s second most populous nation and one of the few in Asia unwilling to kowtow to Chinese might.
    — Sadanand Dhume, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2022
  • Now, Republican candidates trip over themselves in displays of public faith to kowtow to the hardcore base that sees the show as a substitute for substance.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kowtow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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