as in sycophants
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
having surrounded himself with fawners who gave him only good news, the governor had no idea of the true state of affairs
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fawners
Noun
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Trump’s worried sycophants probably know that the details of an eventual agreement likely do not matter very much at this point.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
25 May 2026 -
Who wants to stand with him, other than the sycophants in his Cabinet and party?—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Nilles, meanwhile, won over fans from her first cymbal crash and wove through every drumming nuance created by Peart.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
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By the time the series moved to Chicago, the enmity between the New York and Chicago teams—and between the Yankees’ and the Cubs’ fans—was focused on Ruth.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
Noun
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Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Like the most treacherous toadies from literature — Iago, Wormtongue, Tywin Lannister — Miller managed to shove aside rivals to latch onto his master’s ear and guide him toward more evil.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The evil force of Skeletor (Jared Leto), a bad bad man with no face, brings his minions in and sets off non-stop destruction.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
2 June 2026
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Aniello, who directed both bookend episodes, replicates her own long, dynamic shot from the series premiere, which tracks Deborah from the closing joke of her zillionth Vegas set, through a backstage warren of minions and admirers, to her dressing room.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
29 May 2026
Noun
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Launched in early 1982, the original MOTU line-up saw He-Man and Skeletor joined by heroes Teela (at this point, the only female character), Man-at-Arms and Stratos; the morally ambiguous Zodac; and a couple of Skeletor's henchmen, Beast Man and Mer-Man.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
1 June 2026
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The remoteness of their surroundings is no accident; one of these characters is fleeing an inconvenient past, which returns with a vengeance in the form of a beefy sadist (Benoît Magimel) and his two hostage-taking henchmen.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Firmly in control of the nation’s massive federal apparatus, MAGA and its Republican lickspittles in Congress have thrived on chaos.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The result of this dynamic tension of bootlickers, according to Bernhard’s narrator, is the perpetual elevation and official anointment of mediocrity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
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These are just some of the most prominent, powerful bootlickers stumbling right now on their own deceit and desperation.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Such declarations mean little to devotees like Marta Azcona, proprietor of Botanica La Fe a la Santísima Muerte in Fort Worth, Texas, whose shop is a warren of Santa Muerte statues, candles, bracelets and figurines.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
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By the time the early hours of June 20 roll around, there’s a non-zero chance that New Yorkers will be erecting a statue of Karl-Anthony Towns in Union Square and an army of Timothée Chalamet devotees will have seized control of the city’s 789 bridges and tunnels.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
3 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Fawners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fawners. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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