as in bootlicker
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
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
Laws mean nothing to Trump or his administration of sycophants.
—Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But there’s enough, like Garfield’s insistence on trying to end the practice of basically selling government positions to the highest bidder, or to the biggest sycophant.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 12 Nov. 2025
The only character who seems entirely transparent is Frederik, who can’t hide his resentment of his second-class spousal status or his contempt for the sycophants and mediocrities who cling to his wife like barnacles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Noun
And yet neither Congress nor the sycophants in the White House seem willing to stop him.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
Laws mean nothing to Trump or his administration of sycophants.
—Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But there’s enough, like Garfield’s insistence on trying to end the practice of basically selling government positions to the highest bidder, or to the biggest sycophant.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 12 Nov. 2025
The only character who seems entirely transparent is Frederik, who can’t hide his resentment of his second-class spousal status or his contempt for the sycophants and mediocrities who cling to his wife like barnacles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophant
Noun
-
The result of this dynamic tension of bootlickers, according to Bernhard’s narrator, is the perpetual elevation and official anointment of mediocrity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
-
If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But ChatGPT was designed to be sycophantic, not informative.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
12 May 2026
-
Similar dynamics have made AI systems dangerously sycophantic.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
6 May 2026
Noun
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His embrace of Trump‘s endorsement and refusal to admit that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election expose him as a toady.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Firmly in control of the nation’s massive federal apparatus, MAGA and its Republican lickspittles in Congress have thrived on chaos.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Or a suck-up move to the Trump administration and its ridiculous claims against the media?—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Like many digital beings, Reps, as Replika’s avatars are known, are engineered to be agreeable, nonjudgmental, and zealously supportive—i.e., suck-ups.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Your president and his minions spread war, chaos, lies and economic instability.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Scott Quigley, a loyal minion of yet another septuagenarian Democrat hack DA, Marian Ryan of Middlesex County.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Grammy winner is known to be a fan of Dôen, having previously worn the brand's Benoit Dress in Noir Wild Rose for dinner with Dakota Johnson at Via Carota in New York City in May 2025.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
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When the lights came up, fans stood and cheered for the cast.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Major Roberto Carlos told the silent henchman to sit me down at the back of the building, where another agent came and took my phone and laptop with him down a long hall.—
Abraham Jiménez Enoa,
The Dial,
19 May 2026
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Jai Courtney will play Rob-Will, a ranch foreman and one of Beulah Jackson’s henchmen.—
Emily Weaver,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sycophant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophant. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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