sycophantic
/sɪkəˈfæntɪk/adjective
sycophantic is spelled S-Y-C-O-P-H-A-N-T-I-C: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 77,666th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sycophantic means “Excessively eager to please, especially for personal gain; obsequious, flattering” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sycophantic?
| Letters | 11: S-Y-C-O-P-H-A-N-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 77,666th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sycophantic?
Sycophantic appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 77,666th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sycophantic?
- /sɪkəˈfæntɪk/
Sycophantic has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sycophantic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sycophantic
- more sycophantic comparative
- most sycophantic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sycophantic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Excessively eager to please, especially for personal gain; obsequious, flattering.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sycophantic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense obsequious, flattering, toadying:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | kriecherisch, unterwürfig |
| Spanish | zalamero, sicofántico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sycophantic come from?
From Ancient Greek σῡκοφᾰντῐκός (sūkophăntĭkós). By surface analysis, sycophant + -ic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).