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
William Earl, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
This is a man who, in just over two weeks of his second term, has careened from one disastrous decision to another, to the point where even his most loyal sycophants are struggling to keep up.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
However, Elez seems closely linked to Musk, who is often criticized for surrounding himself with sycophants.
—Ars Technica, 5 Feb. 2025
Where American power is for sale to the biggest sycophants?
—S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Noun
Yet Ariel soon grows concerned that Moretti’s servants and sycophants on his massive swath of remote land act more like cult members than superfans and, of course, dark secrets await.
—William Earl, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
This is a man who, in just over two weeks of his second term, has careened from one disastrous decision to another, to the point where even his most loyal sycophants are struggling to keep up.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
However, Elez seems closely linked to Musk, who is often criticized for surrounding himself with sycophants.
—Ars Technica, 5 Feb. 2025
Where American power is for sale to the biggest sycophants?
—S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophant
Adjective
-
The bad behavior now is that of an erratic and volatile president, sycophantic and inexperienced Cabinet secretaries, an absentee Congress and financial market players beset with delusional expectations of bailouts.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Her circle of slightly sycophantic colleagues (Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloe Sevigny) tout her brilliance, even as her reckless former lover Garfield pushes boundaries verbally and, eventually, physically.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
As of this writing, tens of thousands of Americans in government roles have already been fired by Elon’s tech toadies.—
Kara Swisher,
The Atlantic,
9 Mar. 2025
-
But at the end of the Cold War, state sponsors and their toadies lost ground.—
Audrey Kurth Cronin,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Dec. 2011
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
-
Small medieval villages are demolished in the wake of hell’s minions pouring forth from their dimension and into the next.—
Kazuma Hashimoto,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2025
-
At just 17 years old, Amanda Seyfried booked her breakout role in Mean Girls as Regina George’s bimbo minion who could predict the weather with her boobs.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Five months later, PenaVega shared the devastating news with her fans and followers.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Many fans left comments pointing out just how fierce the diva looked.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
His other performances included as Robert De Niro’s nasty henchman in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995); as Marlon Brando’s insane assistant in John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and as the suave crook Simon Templar in Phillip Noyce’s The Saint (1997).—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2025
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The not-so-grand finale of Reacher’s third season opens with a gun battle that leaves an entire ATF Special Response Team dead, along with a commensurate number of henchmen that Quinn flew in from somewhere.—
Chris Klimek,
Vulture,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Thanks to modern medicine, people in the United States rarely deal with parasites.—
Breanne Hayes Haney,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
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This LifeStraw, 20 percent off for a pack of two, is proven to filter out 99.9 percent of waterborne bacteria and parasites.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sycophant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophant. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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