Sycophant
— someone who flatters powerful or rich people to get some advantage; flatterer
Sycophant means a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage — a flatterer, a toady, someone who showers powerful people with insincere praise to win their favor.
A sycophant does not genuinely admire the person they praise. Their flattery is strategic: they laugh at unfunny jokes, agree with bad ideas, and defend indefensible positions — all because they want something. The word is always derogatory, implying that the person has traded their honesty and dignity for proximity to power.
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Memory Mnemonic
SICK O FAINT
The keyword SICK O FAINT comes from how Sycophant sounds when spoken aloud. This pronunciation connection makes it easy to recall the keyword whenever you hear or see the word.
Memory Link
He made others SICK with his flattery until they wanted to FAINT—a flatterer seeking advantage from the powerful!
Picture someone whose flattery is so excessive, so nauseatingly fake, that it makes everyone around SICK — people literally feel like they might FAINT from the sheer volume of hollow praise pouring out. Visualise this person hovering around the boss, gushing compliments, while colleagues nearby turn green with disgust. That stomach-turning, advantage-seeking flattery is the hallmark of a sycophant.
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Usage Examples
- The CEO was surrounded by sycophants who told him only what he wanted to hear.
- She had no patience for sycophants and valued honest feedback over empty praise.
- The court was full of sycophants competing to win the king's favor through lavish flattery.
- His colleagues dismissed him as a sycophant after he publicly praised every decision the boss made.
- True leaders seek honest advisors, not sycophants who simply echo their opinions.
Etymology of Sycophant
From Greek sykophantes, originally meaning "informer" or "accuser" in ancient Athens, possibly from sykon (fig) + phainein (to show). The exact origin is debated, but one theory links it to people who informed on illegal fig exporters. Over centuries, the meaning shifted from "informer" to "flatterer" — someone who gains advantage through underhanded, ingratiating behavior.
Synonyms & Antonyms of Sycophant
Synonyms
Antonyms
Common Collocations with Sycophant
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