as in sycophant
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
a partisan news program whose host is more of a lickspittle for the White House than a serious journalist
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lickspittle
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
Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 7 July 2024
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
And Washington is revealed once again as our modern Versailles, a place of courtiers and lickspittles who’d use the Ministry of Justice to serve their ambitions.
—John Kass, chicagotribune.com, 15 June 2018
Ricardians denounce Shakespeare as a lickspittle hack who favored Henry Tudor —the winner at Bosworth and Elizabeth I’s grandfather—over Richard’s branch of the House of York.
—Andrew Roberts, WSJ, 30 Apr. 2018
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
Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 7 July 2024
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
And Washington is revealed once again as our modern Versailles, a place of courtiers and lickspittles who’d use the Ministry of Justice to serve their ambitions.
—John Kass, chicagotribune.com, 15 June 2018
Ricardians denounce Shakespeare as a lickspittle hack who favored Henry Tudor —the winner at Bosworth and Elizabeth I’s grandfather—over Richard’s branch of the House of York.
—Andrew Roberts, WSJ, 30 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lickspittle
Noun
-
Hypocritical Democrats and their sycophants in the media are rushing to evade blame for inciting political violence in the country including the latest assassination attempt of President Trump.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Republicans in Congress have become spineless sycophants to a president who only sees the beauty of this country in dollar signs.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
His embrace of Trump‘s endorsement and refusal to admit that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election expose him as a toady.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Your president and his minions spread war, chaos, lies and economic instability.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Scott Quigley, a loyal minion of yet another septuagenarian Democrat hack DA, Marian Ryan of Middlesex County.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Or a suck-up move to the Trump administration and its ridiculous claims against the media?—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
4 Dec. 2025
-
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
-
Major Roberto Carlos told the silent henchman to sit me down at the back of the building, where another agent came and took my phone and laptop with him down a long hall.—
Abraham Jiménez Enoa,
The Dial,
19 May 2026
-
Jai Courtney will play Rob-Will, a ranch foreman and one of Beulah Jackson’s henchmen.—
Emily Weaver,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Yasmin, Tender’s briefly installed head of communications, is the first of Whitney’s flunkies to defect.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
-
For instance, Bolsonaro’s flunkies penetrated the government agency that handled film distribution.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
It’s caused by a parasite, Cytauxzoon felis, that dwells in a species of tick known as the Lone Star tick − named for a single white dot on the backs of adult females.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
21 May 2026
-
Tick bites can transmit bacteria, parasites and viruses into your blood.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lickspittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lickspittle. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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