sycophancy
AmericanEtymology
Origin of sycophancy
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin sȳcophantia “trickery,” from Greek sȳkophantía “dishonest prosecution,” from sȳkophánt(ēs) “informer” ( see sycophant) + -ia -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bezos has no love for reporting but lots for sycophancy.
From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2026
The phenomenon is called sycophancy: Models effectively tell users what they want to hear.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2026
OpenAI said its GPT-5 model, released in August, has shown reductions in sycophancy as well as reductions in undesired responses during challenging mental-health-related conversations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
“AI platforms tend to demonstrate sycophancy, i.e., aligning their responses to a user’s views or style of conversation,” Schueller said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
There remains, indeed, the old political lounger, the loafer of the market-place, ever seeking to obtain some shabby maintenance by sycophancy or by bullying.
From Rambles and Studies in Greece by Mahaffy, J. P.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
