as in bootlicker
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
Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
That was a hate-America rally, sponsored by Donald Trump and his sycophants who incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 18 Oct. 2025
The only character who seems entirely transparent is Frederik, who can’t hide his resentment of his second-class spousal status or his contempt for the sycophants and mediocrities who cling to his wife like barnacles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
This willingness of the AI to heap praise and act as a sycophant has worrying consequences for the populace as a whole.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Noun
With Donald Trump and his sycophants demonizing Americans, spewing hate, and running roughshod over the Constitution, Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
That was a hate-America rally, sponsored by Donald Trump and his sycophants who incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 18 Oct. 2025
The only character who seems entirely transparent is Frederik, who can’t hide his resentment of his second-class spousal status or his contempt for the sycophants and mediocrities who cling to his wife like barnacles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
This willingness of the AI to heap praise and act as a sycophant has worrying consequences for the populace as a whole.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophant
Adjective
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Another similar assumption is that since LLMs are tuned by AI makers to be sycophantic, the AI might computationally be gauging that the best way to make the user feel good is by going along with a delusion-crafting chat.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Chatbots can often be sycophantic or agree with users’ viewpoints to a fault.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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And his toadies that go along with him are -- are subscribing to that.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Dec. 2025
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This draft meeting resembled a bully in the high school cafeteria seeking toadies — any veneer of scouting objectivity was shed.—
Michael Hurley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
7 July 2024
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What happened to the idea that art and culture should be a contemptuous refuge from the mainstream, as opposed to this lickspittle, running dog accommodation to the mainstream?—
Billboard Staff,
Billboard,
3 June 2022
Noun
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Or a suck-up move to the Trump administration and its ridiculous claims against the media?—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
4 Dec. 2025
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Like many digital beings, Reps, as Replika’s avatars are known, are engineered to be agreeable, nonjudgmental, and zealously supportive—i.e., suck-ups.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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His latest lesson was giving the finger to a worker at a Michigan auto plant who yelled at him for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, thereby giving license to his minions to do the same in any conflict or disagreement.—
Bob Kustra,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
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In truth, Musk and his DOGE minions mined Social Security data possibly for private purposes, while working to undermine confidence in the program.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Tokyo — Japanese fans rushed to farewell the country’s last two pandas on Sunday ahead of their return to China, in a departure that highlights strained relations between the two countries.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
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January 2016 brought roughly 700 Front Range Pats fans together.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Though many high-profile cases went nowhere, the case of Hitler’s henchman Martin Bormann is exemplary in showing how inefficient Argentina was in its investigations.—
Solly Boussidan,
FOXNews.com,
18 Jan. 2026
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Lawyers nationwide condemned White House henchman Stephen Miller for his false, provocative claims that ICE agents have immunity for their acts.—
Jackie Calmes,
Mercury News,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Ivermectin, which originated as a treatment for horse parasites, gained traction on social media during the pandemic as an option for treating coronavirus.—
Will Carless,
USA Today,
20 Jan. 2026
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The team observed that even parasites lost vitamin C synthesis over the course of evolution.—
Jay Kakade
January 19,
New Atlas,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sycophant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophant. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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