sycophancy

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈsɪkəfənsi/ UK /ˈsɪkəfənsi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
excessive flattery, servile compliance, or obsequious behavior intended to gain favor or advantage from someone in power

His constant sycophancy toward the boss disgusted his colleagues.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · excessive flattery, servile... flattery obsequiousness servility fawningtoadyism

Opposites

candor frankness independence

Etymology

From Greek sykophantes ('fig-shower'), originally meaning 'informer' or 'false accuser', which evolved to mean 'servile flatterer'; hence sycophancy, the behavior of a fawning flatterer.

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# sycophancy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɪkəfənsi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɪkəfənsi/

## Meanings
1. excessive flattery, servile compliance, or obsequious behavior intended to gain favor or advantage from someone in power

## Examples
- His constant sycophancy toward the boss disgusted his colleagues.

## Synonyms
- flattery
- obsequiousness
- servility
- fawning
- toadyism

## Antonyms
- candor
- frankness
- independence

## Etymology
From Greek sykophantes ('fig-shower'), originally meaning 'informer' or 'false accuser', which evolved to mean 'servile flatterer'; hence sycophancy, the behavior of a fawning flatterer.

## AI Etymology
Sycophancy comes from Greek sykophantes ('fig-shower'), originally meaning 'informer' or 'false accuser', which evolved to mean 'servile flatterer'; hence sycophancy, the behavior of a fawning flatterer. In current use it is a noun meaning "excessive flattery, servile compliance, or obsequious behavior intended to gain favor or advantage from someone in power". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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