Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The fawning behavior of a sycophant; servile flattery.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The character or characteristics of a sycophant; hence, mean tale-bearing; obsequious flattery; servility.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The character or characteristic of a sycophant.
  • noun obsolete False accusation; calumniation; talebearing.
  • noun Obsequious flattery; servility.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The fawning behavior of a sycophant; servile flattery.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun fawning obsequiousness

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Having been bitten several times before by this -- warrantless wiretapping and the Miers nomination leap to mind -- you would think that Congress would have learned by now that the Bush administration views them as an annoyance rather than a co-equal partner in governing, and that any behavior by the legislative branch other than complete sycophancy is considered to be treasonous.

    February 2006 2006

  • But as JWF notes, some comic relief from Milbank’s usual sycophancy is to be found [...]

    McCain Plays the Race Card - Swampland - TIME.com 2008

  • I-R-I, NED, MA – You’re sycophancy is required on this thread.

    Think Progress » Veterans Day Outrage: Conservatives End 55-Year-Old Practice of Hearings for Vet Groups 2005

  • Drafted by the Shimla-based Army Training Command, the code dubs sycophancy and manipulation deadly diseases caused by the “virus of ambition and selfishness”.

    Archive 2008-02-01 Tusar N Mohapatra 2008

  • Drafted by the Shimla-based Army Training Command, the code dubs sycophancy and manipulation deadly diseases caused by the “virus of ambition and selfishness”.

    Double standards can undermine leadership Tusar N Mohapatra 2008

  • Their work survives, and when you have assessed the monstrous flattery at its true worth, swept it aside and come down to the real facts of his life, you make the discovery that the proudest title their sycophancy could bestow and his own fatuity accept -- Le Roi Soleil, the Sun-King -- makes him what indeed he is: a king of opera bouffe.

    The Historical Nights' Entertainment First Series Rafael Sabatini 1912

  • ANC MPs, like many of their NP predecessors, prize party loyalty above allegiance to the constitutional principle of parliamentary oversight, leading Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu to bemoan the 'sycophancy' of ANC MPs ...

    ANC Today 2005

  • Nothing strikes one as more painful and odious in the ways of that Court and that Parliament than the language of sickening sycophancy which is used by all statesmen alike in public {86} with regard to kings and princes, for whom in private they could find no words of abuse too strong and coarse, no curse too profane.

    A History of the Four Georges, Volume II (of 4) Justin McCarthy 1871

  • Blair's "sycophancy" led us into Iraq, says former DPP

    WN.com - Articles related to Petraeus says British hostage kidnapped in Iraq was 'certainly' held in Iran 2009

  • The ex-director of public prosecutions has accused Tony Blair of "sycophancy" towards President Bush.

    WN.com - Articles related to Blair 'happy to be out of race for Europe job' 2009

  • AI models demonstrate this behavior often enough that AI researchers and developers use the same term — sycophancy — to describe how models respond to human feedback and prompting in deceptive or problematic ways.

    Sycophancy in Generative-AI Chatbots Bruce Tognazzini 2024

  • Sycophancy refers to instances in which an AI model adapts responses to align with the user’s view, even if the view is not objectively true.

    Sycophancy in Generative-AI Chatbots Bruce Tognazzini 2024

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