sycophancy

noun

sy·​co·​phan·​cy ˈsi-kə-fən(t)-sē 

also ˈsī-, 

-ˌfan(t)-

: obsequious flattery

also : the character or behavior of a sycophant

Examples of sycophancy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Serious concerns about reliability, sycophancy, and hallucinations remain. —Alexandra Sifferlin, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2026

None of the companies directly commented on the Science study on Thursday but Anthropic and OpenAI pointed to their recent work to reduce sycophancy. —Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026

Dana Calacci, who studies the social impact of AI at Pennsylvania State University and wasn’t involved in the new research, has found that sycophancy tends to get worse the longer users interact with the model. —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2026

As mentioned at the start of this discussion, the usual assumptions are that either the user tells the AI to do so, or the AI opts to proceed in that direction due to being shaped by AI makers toward exercising sycophancy. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

sycophan(t) + -cy, after Latin sȳcophantia, borrowed from Greek sȳkophantía, from sȳkophántēs + -ia -ia entry 1

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sycophancy

• necromancy
• chancy
• dancy
• fancy
• fiancee