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sycophancy

[ sik-uh-fuhn-see, -fan-, sahy-kuh- ]

/ ˈsɪk ə fən si, -ˌfæn-, ˈsaɪ kə- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sycophancy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

self-seeking or servile flattery.

the character or conduct of a sycophant.

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American English is not always as it appears to be ... get to know regional words in this quiz!

Question 1 of 10

A bet is synonymous with a wager, but what does it mean in New York?

Often it means something is impossible.

It’s another way to agree with someone.

It serves as an apology.

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Origin of sycophancy

1615–25; <Latin sȳcophantia trickery <Greek sȳkophantía dishonest prosecution, equivalent to sȳkophant- (see sycophant) + -ia-y³; see -cy

Words nearby sycophancy

sycee, sycoma, sycon, syconium, syconoid, sycophancy, sycophant, sycophantic, sycosiform, sycosis, Sydenham

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for sycophancy

Alone among the servants he had no time for sycophancy or subservience.
Queen Victoria’s Secret Scottish Sex Castle|Clive Irving|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To the young in spirit, the morning meal is but a tradition, followed with a certain amount of sycophancy.
Wanted: A Cook|Alan Dale
He knew that the malice was as shallow as the good will; and the alternatives were resentment, sycophancy, or a little subtlety.
Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume II (of 2)|Wiliam Cabell Bruce
It is a species of toadyism that is invariably omitted from textbooks on the sublime art of sycophancy.
Wanted: A Cook|Alan Dale

But their sycophancy was nothing compared with what the bishops and clergy of the Established Church generally evinced.
A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon|John Lord, A.M.
Phillimore himself makes some very severe strictures on the sycophancy and greed of the higher clergy.
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century|Charles J. Abbey and John H. Overton

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