truckle
/'trʌkl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To act in a subservient or obsequious manner: To behave with excessive humility or deference, often to gain favor or avoid conflict.
- To yield weakly or submissively: To give in to pressure or a stronger will out of weakness or fear.
Noun:
- A low bed on casters, stored under a higher bed: A small, low bed, often on wheels, designed to be rolled under a larger bed when not in use.
Usage and Examples
Verb:
- He refused to truckle to the demands of the corrupt officials. (He refused to submit weakly to their demands.)
- She felt she had to truckle to her overbearing manager to keep her job. (She felt she had to act subserviently to keep her job.)
Noun:
- In the old inn, the servant slept on a truckle pulled out from under the master's bed. (The servant slept on a low bed stored under the main bed.)
Advanced Usage
- "To truckle under": An archaic variant meaning to submit or yield.
- The smaller nation was forced to truckle under to the empire's demands.
Variants and Related Words
- Truckle bed (n): Another term for the low bed, synonymous with "trundle bed."
- Truckler (n): A person who truckles; a sycophant.
- He was seen as a mere truckler, always agreeing with the boss.
- Truckling (adj/n): Behaving in a servile manner.
- His truckling attitude was despised by his colleagues.
Synonyms
- Verb: Kowtow, fawn, grovel, toady, cringe, submit, yield.
- Noun: Trundle bed.
Antonyms
- Verb: Defy, resist, confront, oppose.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- "To truckle to someone/something": This is the standard phrasal construction.
- He would not truckle to bullies. (He would not yield submissively to bullies.)
- The company vowed not to truckle to unfair competition. (The company vowed not to give in weakly to it.)
Noun
- a low bed to be slid under a higher bed
Verb
- try to gain favor by cringing or flattering
- He is always kowtowing to his boss
- yield to out of weakness