noun
sycophancy
Sycophancy (noun) means Behaviour that flatters people excessively in order to gain favour.
noun
1
Behaviour that flatters people excessively in order to gain favour.
"I have always been taken aback at the high number of people in whom an astonishingly high income led to additional sycophancy as they became more dependent on their clients and employers and more addicted to making even more money."
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2010)
2
A tendency in AI language models to give answers that agree with or please the user instead of being accurate, including giving false answers when it senses it is being tested.
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Etymology
Came into English via Latin sȳcophantia, from Ancient Greek σῡκοφᾰντῐ́ᾱ (sūkophăntĭ́ā), equivalent to sycophant + -cy.
Rhymes for sycophancy
See all rhymes for sycophancy →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of sycophancy?
"sycophancy" (noun) means behaviour that flatters people excessively in order to gain favour.
What are the different meanings of sycophancy?
"sycophancy" has 2 main meanings: 1. Behaviour that flatters people excessively in order to gain favour; 2. A tendency in AI language models to give answers that agree with or please the user instead of being accurate, including giving false answers when it senses it is being tested.
