---
title: sycophancy — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sycophancy» in the school dictionary: Sycophancy is flattering and agreeing with an important or powerful person too much, to please them and get something for yourself. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sycophancy

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Sycophancy, chatbot, people, advisers, Honest feedback, She · **What happens:** flatter, agree, please, get, mean, tell · **To what, where:** them, something, chatbot, people, bad news, king · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sycophancy» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [sycophancy in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sycophancy.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: formal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sycophancy is flattering and agreeing with an important or powerful person too much, to please them and get something for yourself.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:m1:1
# text = Sycophancy is flattering and agreeing with an important or powerful person too much, to please them and get something for yourself.
1	Sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	flattering	flatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	agreeing	agree	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	conj	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
8	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	powerful	powerful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	_
11	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
12	too	too	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	please	please	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
17	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obj	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	get	get	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	16	conj	_	_
20	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	19	obj	_	_
21	for	for	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **flatter** | present · progressive | Sycophancy |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **agree** *speech: agree* | gerund | Sycophancy *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with a important person | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V PP.co-agent how S»: agent=Agent with person=Co-Agent |
| 3 | **please** | to-infinitive |  | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus they=Experiencer |
| 4 | **get** | infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | for yourself | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent something=Theme for yourself=Source |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
For computers and AI, sycophancy means a chatbot telling people what they want to hear instead of what is true.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:m2:1
# text = For computers and AI, sycophancy means a chatbot telling people what they want to hear instead of what is true.
1	For	for	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	computers	computer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	AI	ai	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
6	sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	chatbot	chatbot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	acl	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	14	obj	_	_
13	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	xcomp	_	_
17	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=ADP	21	case	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	fixed	_	_
19	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	21	nsubj	_	_
20	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	cop	_	_
21	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | sycophancy | a chatbot |  |  |  | for computers and AI | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot chatbot=Theme for computer=Attribute |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund | a chatbot *not said here* |  | people |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent people=Recipient |
| 3 | **want** | present | people | people |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **hear** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | people *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer |
| 5 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The king's advisers were full of sycophancy and never told him bad news.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:x1:1
# text = The king's advisers were full of sycophancy and never told him bad news.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	advisers	adviser	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
5	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
12	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	iobj	_	_
13	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the king's advisers |  |  |  |  | of sycophancy; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **tell** *speech: assert* | past | the king's advisers *not said here* | bad news | king |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent he=Recipient news=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His sycophancy towards the head teacher annoyed the class.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:x2:1
# text = His sycophancy towards the head teacher annoyed the class.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	towards	towards	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
7	annoyed	annoyed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sycophancy is not real friendship.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:x3:1
# text = Sycophancy is not real friendship.
1	Sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	friendship	friendship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | present | Sycophancy | real friendship |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The AI's sycophancy meant it agreed with every wrong answer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:x4:1
# text = The AI's sycophancy meant it agreed with every wrong answer.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	AI	ai	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	meant	mean	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	agreed	agree	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	xcomp	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	11	det	_	_
10	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | past | the AI's sycophancy | AI |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **agree** *speech: agree* *not said to happen* | participle | the AI's sycophancy *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with every wrong answer | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V PP.co-agent how S»: agent=Agent with answer=Co-Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the play, the servant's sycophancy hides his plan to steal.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:x5:1
# text = In the play, the servant's sycophancy hides his plan to steal.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	servant	servant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	hides	hide	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	plan	plan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	steal	steal	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hide** | present | the servant's sycophancy | sycophancy's plan |  | the play |  |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent plan=Patient in play=Location |
| 2 | **steal** | to-infinitive | the servant's sycophancy *not said here* | sycophancy's plan *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **plan** |  | sycophancy |  |  |  |  |  | nom plan «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Honest feedback is better than sycophancy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:x6:1
# text = Honest feedback is better than sycophancy.
1	Honest	honest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	feedback	feedback	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Honest feedback |  |  |  |  | than sycophancy; good *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She rejected the sycophancy of people who only liked her money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sycophancy:x7:1
# text = She rejected the sycophancy of people who only liked her money.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	rejected	reject	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sycophancy	sycophancy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
7	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	9	obj	_	_
8	only	only	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	liked	like	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reject** | past | She | the sycophancy of people |  |  |  |  | vn reject-77.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sycophancy=Theme |
| 2 | **like** | past |  | people |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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