as in flunkey
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
be careful not to mistake sycophants for true friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sycophant
Ars Technica, 5 Feb. 2025
Where American power is for sale to the biggest sycophants?
—S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
Those vibes were often dictated by the sycophants in Musk’s orbit.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2025
Triangle of Sadness parodied the wealthy class and their out-of-touch behaviors; The Menu gorged on monstrous culinary world personalities and the sycophants who feed them; and most recently, Blink Twice confronted the protective bubbles shielding powerful men from accountability.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Noun
However, Elez seems closely linked to Musk, who is often criticized for surrounding himself with sycophants.
—Ars Technica, 5 Feb. 2025
Where American power is for sale to the biggest sycophants?
—S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
Those vibes were often dictated by the sycophants in Musk’s orbit.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2025
Triangle of Sadness parodied the wealthy class and their out-of-touch behaviors; The Menu gorged on monstrous culinary world personalities and the sycophants who feed them; and most recently, Blink Twice confronted the protective bubbles shielding powerful men from accountability.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophant
Adjective
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Already, and despite its shortfalls such as hallucinations – when chatbots make up inexistent facts, and sycophantic behavior – when the bot gives a particular answer to elicit the user’s approval, AI has been shown to outperform CEO’s on a range of tasks.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
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Research conclusively shows that sycophantic AI behavior undermines trust and meaningful interaction.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Most Americans don’t get it either, or why previous senators backing Ukraine have become toadies to Trump’s outrageous claims against the Ukrainians.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2025
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After Zelenskyy wouldn’t genuflect, Trump got toadies Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz to ask the Ukrainian to leave.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelenskyy while Russian leaders rejoiced.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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Of course, being a junior senator and attaching your name to legislation that has little chance of being enacted—none of those have bills passed—is very different from being Vice-President and chief lickspittle to Trump.—
John Cassidy,
The New Yorker,
22 July 2024
Noun
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But the joke’s on us — Republican senators, who are the only players with any real power to stop them, have simply decided not to, all so that President Camacho can play at government with his favorite suck-ups.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
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Sara Fischer, Dave Lawler Dec 23, 2024 - Politics & Policy Media's suck-up moment Fearing political retribution and strained by new business challenges, media companies that once covered President-elect Trump with skepticism — and in many cases, disdain — are reconsidering their approach.—
Sara Fischer,
Axios,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Sadly, perhaps much of what the Oscar winner is doing here will be lost in the blowback the unsweetened Trump critic will undoubtedly be subjected to from the MAGA minions and their kingpin in the days to come.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2025
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Welles later said a Hearst minion had tried, unsuccessfully, to frame Welles by sending a 14-year-old girl to his hotel room.—
John Semley,
Smithsonian Magazine,
12 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The actor is a longtime fan of the French soccer team.—
Hannah Malach,
WWD,
10 Mar. 2025
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Cardi, a fan of the show, teased the trailer wearing a very mid-aughts hair color combo that would've been right at home on Hayley Williams or the local skate park.—
Kara Nesvig,
Allure,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Raq is a master manipulator who claims to value loyalty above all else, especially from her henchmen brothers Marvin (London Brown) and Lou (Malcolm Mays) and her only son, yet constantly destabilizes the three of them with selfish mind games and power plays that genuinely harm them.—
Robyn Bahr,
The Hollywood Reporter,
7 Mar. 2025
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One whack and the burly guard or crime boss henchman is knocked out for the rest of the caper.—
Rich Heldenfels,
Boston Herald,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In addition, old nests can also harbor parasites and pathogens that might be harmful to the birds.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 Mar. 2025
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These real-world parasites have inspired everything from horror movies to the hit HBO series The Last of Us, which envisions a future where a mutated Cordyceps fungus jumps to humans.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Sycophant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophant. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.
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