sycophantic

From Ancient Greek σῡκοφᾰντῐκός (sūkophăntĭkós).^[1][2] By surface analysis, sycophant +‎ -ic.

• enPR: sĭk-ə-făn'tĭk, IPA^(key): /sɪkəˈfæntɪk/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æntɪk

sycophantic (comparative more sycophantic, superlative most sycophantic)

1. Excessively eager to please, especially for personal gain; obsequious, flattering.
   • 2011, Felix Hagan, “Just Like All The Rest”, in Dawn Breaks, the Monster Wakes...:

     I melt into a sycophantic soup, and all that’s left to do is giggle, fawn and swoon.

   • 2022 September 8, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian:

     when the princess’s former nanny Marion Crawford, “Crawfie”, published an entirely anodyne and sycophantic memoir in 1950, she was cast into outer darkness by the family.

   • 2025 February 28, Jonah Goldberg, “Dishonor and Incompetence in the Oval Office”, in The Dispatch:

     Then, at the 40 minute mark, [US Vice President J.D.] Vance chimed in with some sycophantic nonsense.

• sycophant