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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lickspittle
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
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
-
To start the new Mideast war, Donnie acted on his own with no resistance from his sycophants, who have no backbones.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The Republican sycophants currently in office, out of fear, won’t stand up to him.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Feb. 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
-
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
-
And his toadies that go along with him are -- are subscribing to that.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Noem’s minions would defy and frustrate federal judges seeking basic information from DHS about the department’s compliance with court orders.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Instead, his minions, so afraid of earning his wrath, have remained quiet.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 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
-
House, a Kiwi familiar from various Taika Waititi projects including the recent TV adaptation of Time Bandits, is a constance source of unexpected danger, while Hughes, George Mason and Matuse all get good moments as her variably bumbling henchmen.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
-
When Martin gets blackmailed by gangsters, the pair knock off a mafia henchman and plunge themselves deep into the Australian underworld, all while trying to keep their business afloat.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
4 Mar. 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
-
Satoskar says the inaccurate information that influencers are sharing about parasites might encourage people, including those with delusional parasitosis, to make risky health decisions.—
Sarah Boden,
NPR,
16 Mar. 2026
-
They have been microchipped, vaccinated and treated for fleas and parasites.—
Maryanne Dell,
Oc Register,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lickspittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lickspittle. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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