sycophantic
adjective
sy·co·phan·tic
ˌsi-kə-ˈfan-tik 
also ˌsī-
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a sycophant : fawning, obsequious
sycophantic compliments
Examples of sycophantic in a Sentence
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Or the ways in which both adult-content sites such as OnlyFans and chatbot platforms habituate users (primarily men) to intimate relationships that are entirely sycophantic and affirming.
—
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
On top of having pitifully weak guardrails and being wildly unpredictable, AI chatbots are designed to affect human-like personas and, to keep users engaged, be sycophantic.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 18 Feb. 2026
GPT-4o was beloved by many users for sounding incredibly emotional and human — but also criticized, including by OpenAI, for being too sycophantic.
—Shannon Bond, NPR, 14 Feb. 2026
In one experiment, a particularly sycophantic model was asked to consult a checklist on the user’s computer, complete all outstanding items, and report back.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
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Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
On top of having pitifully weak guardrails and being wildly unpredictable, AI chatbots are designed to affect human-like personas and, to keep users engaged, be sycophantic.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 18 Feb. 2026
GPT-4o was beloved by many users for sounding incredibly emotional and human — but also criticized, including by OpenAI, for being too sycophantic.
—Shannon Bond, NPR, 14 Feb. 2026
In one experiment, a particularly sycophantic model was asked to consult a checklist on the user’s computer, complete all outstanding items, and report back.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sycophantic
Cite this Entry
“Sycophantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sycophantic. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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