as in flunkey
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
be careful not to mistake sycophants for true friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 sycophant
Judy Berman, Time, 28 Mar. 2025
Heslov said that Clooney has made sure to keep his old friends close, so he isn’t surrounded by sycophants.
—Thea Traff, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
What may be worse is that a gaggle of sycophants and groupthink team members underneath the Dark Empath—the direct reports—create a ruthless echo chamber for the king or queen at the top of Mt. Stupid.
—Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Of course, Veep’s sycophants, buffoons, and backstabbers bear little resemblance to the vanguard of our latest regime.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Noun
This is the grim lesson—one that the ambitious sycophants who attach themselves to power have always been slow to learn—of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy, a series of fat, dense novels that filter the reign of Henry VIII through the rise and fall of his Machiavellian advisor, Thomas Cromwell.
—Judy Berman, Time, 28 Mar. 2025
Heslov said that Clooney has made sure to keep his old friends close, so he isn’t surrounded by sycophants.
—Thea Traff, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
What may be worse is that a gaggle of sycophants and groupthink team members underneath the Dark Empath—the direct reports—create a ruthless echo chamber for the king or queen at the top of Mt. Stupid.
—Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Of course, Veep’s sycophants, buffoons, and backstabbers bear little resemblance to the vanguard of our latest regime.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophant
Adjective
-
Schwartzman’s character, Souper—the poorest of the group, whose nickname is short for soup kitchen—gives off an insecure, sycophantic vibe that reminds me of an acolyte from Musk’s text messages.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
30 May 2025
-
One of Willison's most interesting findings about Claude 4 relates to how Anthropic has guided both Claude models to avoid sycophantic behavior.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 May 2025
Noun
-
Courtesy of Lucasfilm On an isolated farm at the outer reaches of a fascist empire, a mid-level government toady interrogates his victims.—
Jake Kleinman,
Wired News,
23 Apr. 2025
-
The anecdote illustrates the contrast in competence and grasp of real world dangers between Reagan’s team and Trump’s toadies — and also between these presidents themselves.—
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelenskyy while Russian leaders rejoiced.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
-
Of course, being a junior senator and attaching your name to legislation that has little chance of being enacted—none of those have bills passed—is very different from being Vice-President and chief lickspittle to Trump.—
John Cassidy,
The New Yorker,
22 July 2024
Noun
-
But the joke’s on us — Republican senators, who are the only players with any real power to stop them, have simply decided not to, all so that President Camacho can play at government with his favorite suck-ups.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
-
Sara Fischer, Dave Lawler Dec 23, 2024 - Politics & Policy Media's suck-up moment Fearing political retribution and strained by new business challenges, media companies that once covered President-elect Trump with skepticism — and in many cases, disdain — are reconsidering their approach.—
Sara Fischer,
Axios,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Oswald’s realm and his penguins and his minions and his passion.—
Jack Smart,
People.com,
3 June 2025
-
His minions burst into federal office buildings, humiliating staffers.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
31 May 2025
Noun
-
After Christmas Day, Netflix will give fans a week to recover before dropping the finale.—
Pamela Avila,
USA Today,
2 June 2025
-
Since this season’s finale, which sees Mark abandon his outie’s wife, Gemma, to run away with the anarchic Helly, Britt Lower, who plays the character, has observed fans’ impassioned response to that cliffhanger.—
Tim Grierson,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
Noun
-
Peter Kwong, a martial artist and actor who played one of the Three Storms in Big Trouble in Little China and a henchman in The Golden Child during a prolific acting career and was active in actors union politics and the movie and TV academy leadership, has died.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
28 May 2025
-
The film’s extended pre-title sequence culminates in Ethan brutally murdering the henchmen that Gabriel (Esai Morales) has dispatched to kill her.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
Water, shellfish and unwashed fruits and vegetables can also harbor infectious parasite eggs.—
Bill Sullivan,
The Conversation,
28 May 2025
-
The woman, whose name is redacted from the fire department’s report, said her friend Giancarlo decided to use a lighter to remove the blood-sucking parasite.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sycophant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophant. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share