as in fawning
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Recent Examples of sycophancy
Some of the changes were designed to minimize sycophancy, based on concerns that validating whatever vulnerable people want the chatbot to say can harm their mental health.
—
Dave Collins, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
Second is sycophancy, where AI chatbots tend to reinforce users’ existing biases rather than challenge them, creating echo chambers that amplify certainty in one’s beliefs.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Rival OpenAI has also faced problems with ChatGPT displaying sycophancy.
—PC Magazine, 20 Nov. 2025
But critics and former employees who spoke with CNN say the AI company has long known of the dangers of the tool’s tendency toward sycophancy – repeatedly reinforcing and encouraging any kind of input – particularly for users who are distressed or mentally ill.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophancy
Dave Collins, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
Second is sycophancy, where AI chatbots tend to reinforce users’ existing biases rather than challenge them, creating echo chambers that amplify certainty in one’s beliefs.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Rival OpenAI has also faced problems with ChatGPT displaying sycophancy.
—PC Magazine, 20 Nov. 2025
But critics and former employees who spoke with CNN say the AI company has long known of the dangers of the tool’s tendency toward sycophancy – repeatedly reinforcing and encouraging any kind of input – particularly for users who are distressed or mentally ill.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophancy
Noun
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According to Gaiani, drinking or using drugs before social situations is a major sign that your teen may be using alcohol to cope with fawning and to feel more comfortable or confident.—
Sarah Scott,
Parents,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In the first act, a love potion instantly transforms contempt into adoration.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
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Coupled with adoration is an entitlement people feel to her, an element antithetical to her swag.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Following in the footsteps of social-media-savvy churches such as Hillsong, in Los Angeles, Mercy Culture had a worship band that played earnest, anthemic rock, and its pastors wore skinny jeans.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
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Avoiding forms of worship unacceptable to that deity.—
James Coffin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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As a cipher, the Discobolus can either represent Pollak’s humanistic ethos of a cosmopolitan society or the idolatries of Hitler’s blood-and-soil fascism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
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The prophets were understood to have been sent by God to chastise the people of Israel for falling into idolatry and other evils and to urge repentance.—
Joanne M. Pierce,
The Conversation,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Each chapter discusses a specific sales element, which includes such topics as goal setting, prospecting, ingratiation and listening tactics, empathy and much more.—
Larry D. Urish,
Oc Register,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sycophancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophancy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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