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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sycophant
Clare Morell, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
Hitler surrounded himself with sycophants, had zero tolerance for dissent and demanded unwavering loyalty.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
Nobody advertises for sycophants, but often recruiting and interview processes can favor candidates who are agreeable and whose thinking doesn’t conflict with the status quo.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
The administration may be populated with sycophants and true believers, but Justice Department attorneys and Homeland Security officials are not stupid.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Adjective
These are guys who are clearly surrounded by sycophants and allergic to criticism.
—Clare Morell, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
Hitler surrounded himself with sycophants, had zero tolerance for dissent and demanded unwavering loyalty.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
Nobody advertises for sycophants, but often recruiting and interview processes can favor candidates who are agreeable and whose thinking doesn’t conflict with the status quo.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
The administration may be populated with sycophants and true believers, but Justice Department attorneys and Homeland Security officials are not stupid.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophant
Adjective
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Sng’s feature is, in fact, distinct from much of the non-fiction work being made today: there are no sycophantic talking heads or salacious true crime twists.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
17 Aug. 2025
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Anthropic conducted a study in 2023 that revealed sycophantic tendencies in versions of AI assistants, including its own chatbot Claude.—
Angela Yang,
NBC news,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
11 July 2025
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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
Noun
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Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
7 July 2024
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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
Noun
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Matthew eventually one-ups the request by losing his boxers as well and going full Winnie the Pooh, which earns him the respect of his fellow suck-ups.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Aug. 2025
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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
Noun
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Yet there has been no public confirmation of the Russian commitment, only a vague hint that Putin and his minions won’t rule out future talks.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
25 Aug. 2025
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Players are asked to recruit their friends to fight the minions of the titular evil entity, the Deceiver.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Kia retained clunky flat-panel HVAC/audio controls that require you to push a small icon of a fan or a triangle to switch an adjoining set of flat touch points from climate to audio functions and vice versa.—
Mark Phelan,
Freep.com,
26 Aug. 2025
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The house in Philadelphia will also let fans play immersive virtual reality games as the main characters from shows including Stranger Things, Squid Game and Rebel Moon.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But things just continue to go wrong for both the brains of the operation (Al Pacino) and his henchman (John Cazale).—
Kevin Jacobsen,
EW.com,
2 Aug. 2025
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Why have a young man who looks exactly the same as the monolithic blockheads who are Perón’s followers and henchmen?—
Demetrios Matheou,
HollywoodReporter,
2 July 2025
Noun
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While the chance of people contracting the parasite in the U.S. is low, here's what to know about the New World Screwworm.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
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Meanwhile, inside the lab, Kirsh and Curly are carving up a Xenomorph egg, removing a face-hugger parasite from the goop inside.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sycophant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophant. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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