SINCE 1828
sycophantic
adjective
sy·co·phan·tic
| \ ˌsi-kə-ˈfan-tik also ˌsī-
\
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Definition of sycophantic
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a sycophant : fawning, obsequious
sycophantic compliments
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Other Words from sycophantic
sycophantically
\ ˌsi-kə-ˈfan-ti-k(ə-)lē also ˌsī-
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of sycophantic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Snobs are accused of being sycophantic to famous people. — P.j. O'rourke, Town & Country, "P.J. O'Rourke on Why Snobbery Is a Good Thing," 15 Sep. 2016 Musk then cued up Galileo Russell, a Tesla fanboy who issues his sycophantic opinions on Tesla via a YouTube channel. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Elon Musk's performance on Tesla's earnings call could make people afraid to buy his stock — or his cars," 3 May 2018 The movie opens in 2001, in the northern village of Datong, where Guo Bin (Liao Fan), a member of the jianghu underworld, runs a mah-jongg parlor and enjoys the sycophantic attention of his comrades and underlings. — Justin Chang, latimes.com, "Justin Chang's Cannes diary 2018: Passion and politics collide in 'Ash Is Purest White,' 'Cold War'," 13 May 2018 That hasn’t stopped some sycophantic Republicans and shrewd foreign leaders from stroking Trump’s ego by declaring him the winner though. — Adam K. Raymond, Daily Intelligencer, "‘Everyone Thinks So, But I Would Never Say It’: Trump on Whether He Deserves Nobel," 9 May 2018 Newspapers have swung from sycophantic coverage of the former first family to decrying them. — The Economist, "Angola’s new president, João Lourenço, has made an encouraging start," 3 May 2018 Given Donald Trump’s extremely well-known weakness for flattery and, indeed, sycophantic adulation, Netanyahu’s comparison of Trump to the greatest Anglo-American heroes (Balfour and Truman) of Zionist history made sense. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Bibi and the Christian Right Agree: Trump Is the New Cyrus the Great," 5 Mar. 2018 The best bits are when Trump, voiced wonderfully by Jeff Bergman, leaves the safety of his own sycophantic clan. — Lorraine Ali, latimes.com, "Stephen Colbert's 'Our Cartoon President' hits the mark sporadically, but when it does, it hits hard," 10 Feb. 2018 And following a visit to the White House last year, Prime Minister Theresa May was mercilessly mocked in the British press for appearing overly sycophantic toward Trump, to the point of walking hand-in-hand with him. — Laura King, latimes.com, "Trump stirs a hornet's nest in Britain by blasting its National Health Service," 5 Feb. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sycophantic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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