What does "sycophant" mean?
One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
Sycophant
/ˈsɪkəfænt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
- Grammar: sycophant is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: toady, ass-kisser, bootlicker, flatterer.
- Useful contrasts: boss, candor, critic.
- Usage evidence: He was a sycophant, always trying to ingratiate himself with the wealthy.
How to use "sycophant"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sycophant" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sycophant" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sycophant" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
"A sycophant will everything admire: / Each verse, each sentence, sets his soul on fire"
- 2 a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage wordnet
- 3 One who seeks to gain through the powerful and influential.
- 4 An informer; a talebearer. obsolete
"[H]is mind had no eye to espy goodness; and therefore accusing sycophants, of all men, did best sort to his nature."
Verb
- 1 To inform against; hence, to calumniate. obsolete, transitive
"As therefore he began in the title, so in the next leaf he makes it his first business to tamper with his reader by sycophanting and misnaming the work of his adversary."
- 2 To play the sycophant toward; to flatter obsequiously. rare, transitive
Example
"He was a sycophant, always trying to ingratiate himself with the wealthy."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sycophant"?
Common synonyms include: toady, ass-kisser, bootlicker, flatterer, lackey, adherent.
How do you use "sycophant" in a sentence?
He was a sycophant, always trying to ingratiate himself with the wealthy.
How do you pronounce "sycophant"?
Pronounced /ˈsɪkəfænt/.
Etymology
First attested in 1537. From Latin sȳcophanta (“informer, trickster”), from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophántēs), itself from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I show, demonstrate”). The gesture of "showing the fig" was a vulgar one, which was made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, which is itself symbolic of a σῦκον (sûkon), which also meant vulva. The story behind this etymology is that politicians in ancient Greece steered clear of displaying that vulgar gesture, but secretly urged their followers to taunt their opponents by using it. Cognate with Italian sicofante, Spanish sicofanta.