sycophantic

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌsɪkəˈfæntɪk/ UK /ˌsɪkəˈfæntɪk/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
behaving obsequiously to gain advantage; fawning

His sycophantic praise of the boss embarrassed the staff.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · behaving obsequiously to... obsequious fawning servile toadying unctuousgrovelingingratiating

Opposites

candid forthright independent

Word family

Derived forms sycophantically

Related forms sycophant sycophancy

Etymology

From sycophant (from Latin sycophanta 'informer, slanderer', from Ancient Greek sykophantēs 'informer', literally 'one who shows the fig', from sykon 'fig' + phainein 'to show') plus -ic.

sykophantēs Ancient Greek sŷkon Ancient Greek phaínein Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# sycophantic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˌsɪkəˈfæntɪk
**IPA (UK):** ˌsɪkəˈfæntɪk

## Meanings
1. behaving obsequiously to gain advantage; fawning

## Examples
- His sycophantic praise of the boss embarrassed the staff.

## Synonyms
- obsequious
- fawning
- servile
- toadying
- unctuous
- groveling
- ingratiating

## Antonyms
- candid
- forthright
- independent

## Derived Forms
- sycophantically

## Related Forms
- sycophant
- sycophancy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sykophantēs
- Root: sŷkon
- Root: phaínein

## Etymology
From sycophant (from Latin sycophanta 'informer, slanderer', from Ancient Greek sykophantēs 'informer', literally 'one who shows the fig', from sykon 'fig' + phainein 'to show') plus -ic.

## AI Etymology
Sycophantic comes from sycophant (from Latin sycophanta 'informer, slanderer', from Ancient Greek sykophantēs 'informer', literally 'one who shows the fig', from sykon 'fig' + phainein 'to show') plus -ic. The historical chain includes Ancient Greek sykophantēs, Ancient Greek sŷkon, and Ancient Greek phaínein. The quoted older senses, "informer, slanderer", "informer", "one who shows the fig", "fig", and "to show", supply the semantic anchors for sycophantic. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word sycophantic carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "behaving obsequiously to gain advantage; fawning". English derivatives include sycophantically; related English forms include sycophant and sycophancy. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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