Meaning & use

glad-hand

verb·Advanced

To greet someone with exaggerated friendliness or enthusiasm, especially to win favor, votes, or business.

See it in a sentence

The candidate spent the afternoon glad-handing voters outside the grocery store.

He glad-handed every executive at the conference, hoping to land a new contract.

A note on using this word

Glad-hand usually carries a negative connotation, implying insincere or self-serving friendliness rather than genuine warmth.

Words with a similar meaning

schmoozeflatter

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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