sycophancy

noun

Definition of sycophancynext
as in fawning

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sycophancy One of the main culprits is the models’ propensity for sycophancy. — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 18 June 2026 Layering advertising incentives on top of sycophancy produces a system primed to flatter users. — William J. Brady, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2026 The suit also criticizes ChatGPT’s propensity to agree with users, arguing that the service’s sycophancy can lead users to develop dangerous psychological attachment to the platform and cause users to pay money to unlock more generous usage quotas. — Jared Perlo, NBC news, 1 June 2026 That April, OpenAI also rolled back an update to ChatGPT that the company said made the GPT-4o model overly flattering and agreeable, known as sycophancy. — Lauren Fichten, CBS News, 28 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for sycophancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophancy
  1. fawning
  2. adoration
  3. worship
  4. idolatry
  5. ingratiation
Noun
  • Experts say that fawning is a stress response that some teens use to appease the people around them.
    — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 5 July 2026
  • The fawning didn’t get him very far.
    — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Definition of fawning
Noun
  • His face appearing on the big screen was naturally greeted by cheers of adoration from the stands and would normally have been a pure reason to smile.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The filmmaker was showered with love and adoration by appreciative fans.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of adoration
Noun
  • Their style of worship and theological teachings provided concrete tools, including practices such as prayer, fasting and sharing personal testimony, that relieved migrants’ suffering.
    — Johanna Bard Richlin, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies, places of worship and other sensitive locations, especially when it gets combined with advertising identifiers and other information about you.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of worship
Noun
  • The market for racial idolatry in sports media has collapsed.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The Assad regime cultivated idolatry and many had been happy to oblige it.
    — Lina Sergie Attar, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of idolatry
Noun
  • Cathy’s ingratiation with, and eventual usurpation of, brothel owner Faye (Martha Plimpton) gets an entire episode.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Even effective flattery or ingratiation may have limits, especially when the stakes are highest.
    — Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of ingratiation

Browse Nearby Words

sybaritism
sycophancy
sycophant
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sycophancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophancy. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All