sycophanticadjective
uk/ˌsɪk.əˈfæn.tɪk/us/ˌsɪk.əˈfæn.tɪk/formal disapproving(of a person or of behaviour) praising people in authority in a way that is not sincere, usually in order to get some advantage from them:
There was sycophantic laughter from the audience at every one of his terrible jokes.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Praising insincerely or too eagerly
- arse-licker
- bow and scrape idiom
- brown-nose
- crawler
- creep
- fawn
- flatter
- flattery
- flattery will get you nowhere idiom
- glad-handing
- grovel
- idealize
- left-handed compliment
- massage
- massage sb's ego idiom
- obsequious
- play up to sb
- schmooze
- slobber
- unctuous
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sycophancy
noun [ U ] uk/ˈsɪk.ə.fən.si/us/ˈsɪk.ə.fən.si/
sycophant
noun [ C ] uk/ˈsɪk.ə.fænt/us/ˈsɪk.ə.fænt/
The prime minister is surrounded by sycophants.