名词 (n.) 谄媚;阿谀奉承;拍马屁。指为了获取利益或好感而对有权势的人过分讨好、奉承的行为。
The new employee's obvious sycophancy toward the boss made his colleagues uncomfortable.
那个新员工对老板明显的阿谀奉承让同事们感到不舒服。
Throughout history, courts have been plagued by sycophancy, where advisors tell rulers only what they want to hear rather than what they need to know.
纵观历史,宫廷中充斥着谄媚之风,顾问们只对统治者说他们想听的话,而非他们需要知道的真相。
该词源自拉丁语 sycophanta,更早追溯至古希腊语 sykophantēs(συκοφάντης),由 sykon(无花果)和 phainein(展示)组成。在古希腊,这个词最初指的是告密者或诬告者,据说与揭发非法出口无花果的人有关。后来词义逐渐演变,经由拉丁语和法语传入英语后,含义转变为"谄媚者、马屁精",其名词形式 sycophancy 则指这种阿谀奉承的行为或品性。