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
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
Those vibes were often dictated by the sycophants in Musk’s orbit.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sycophant
Noun
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.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for sycophant
Adjective
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Leavitt and her colleagues could stock the briefing room’s front rows with sycophantic figures – or move more serious questioners to the back.—
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No wonder, Maher at the end of the show went after Trump, his sycophantic cabinet and the MAGA crowd for threatening our former closest ally Canada and openly talking about a third term.—
Noun
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As of this writing, tens of thousands of Americans in government roles have already been fired by Elon’s tech toadies.—
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But at the end of the Cold War, state sponsors and their toadies lost ground.—
Noun
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Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelenskyy while Russian leaders rejoiced.—
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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.—
Noun
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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.—
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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.—
Noun
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Musk and his hacker minions have blown into departments, demanding access to highly sensitive data in pursuit of finding waste, fraud, and abuse—often making cuts and promoting the reductions before fully understanding what was going on.—
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Decisions made today by Trump and his minions will affect our children and our children’s children for years to come.—
Noun
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Add Pierce Brosnan to the list of George Clooney's fans!—
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The wait is over for fans anticipating the beginning of Grand Slam Track.—
Noun
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Back in Montana, every trip Jacob and company take to Bozeman and back is inevitably fraught with peril — if not instigated by dastardly rich guy Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) and/or his henchman Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), then by the pitiless nature of extreme weather.—
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In Lynch’s festering neo-noir mystery from 1987, Hopper plays a chronic villain perpetually sipping from a tank of amyl nitrate and handing out hits as a way to manipulate his henchmen.—
Noun
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At-home test tackles three most common STIs Chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis are three of the most prevalent STIs in the U.S. Both chlamydia and gonorrhea are bacterial infections, while trichomoniasis is caused by a parasite.—
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The tropical variety develops a parasite that can make butterflies sick and unable to reproduce.—
Cite this Entry
“Sycophant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sycophant. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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