fawn

verb

\ˈfȯn,

ˈfän\

fawned; fawning; fawns

Definition of fawn

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to court favor by a cringing or flattering manner courtiers fawning on the king

2 : to show affection —used especially of a dog The dog was fawning on its master.

fawn

noun

Definition of fawn (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a young deer especially : one still unweaned or retaining a distinctive baby coat

2 : kid sense 2

3 : a light grayish brown

Other Words from fawn Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about fawn

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Choose the Right Synonym for fawn

Verb

fawn, toady, truckle, cringe, cower mean to behave abjectly before a superior. fawn implies seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention. waiters fawning over a celebrity toady suggests the attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude. toadying to his boss truckle implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior. truckling to a powerful lobbyist cringe suggests a bowing or shrinking in fear or servility. a cringing sycophant cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people. cowering before a bully

Did You Know?

Verb

Some people will be glad to learn the origins of "fawn"-and there's a hint about the word's etymology in that declaration. Middle English speakers adapted an Old English word meaning "to rejoice" to create the verb "faunen," which shifted in spelling over time to become "fawn." That Old English word, in turn, derives from fagan, meaning "glad." "Fagan" is also an ancestor of the English adjective "fain," whose earliest (now obsolete) meaning is "happy" or "pleased." If we follow the etymological path of "fawn" even further back, we arrive at an ancient word that also provided Old German and Old Norse with words for "happy."

Examples of fawn in a Sentence

Verb

a sports star surrounded by fawning fans a student who could not wait to fawn over the new teacher

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The businesslike mood contrasted with Trump’s fawning over Macron at a state dinner in April, and Macron’s lavish Eiffel Tower welcome for the Trumps last year. — Angela Charlton, The Seattle Times, "Bromance cools for once-chummy Trump and Marcon," 26 Sep. 2018 But even an Oscar winner isn't enough to distract rabid Lush fans from asking incisive product questions and fawning over their styling cream. — Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, "Lush Employee Goes Viral for Being Leonardo DiCaprio's Doppelgänger," 15 Aug. 2018 Ryan Gosling is no stranger to fans fawning over him on the Internet, but his surprise appearance at a Toronto coffee shop earlier this week, after a fervent Twitter campaign, proved to be a major real-life event for all involved. — Fox News, "Ryan Gosling stops by Toronto coffee shop after management lobbies for visit with cardboard cut-out," 13 Sep. 2018 The giddy display was so charming, even Nessa couldn’t stop fawning over the gal pals. — refinery29.com, "Surprise! Two Of Your Netflix Faves Are BFFs," 19 June 2018 Why else, Bishop and a colleague wrote in a letter to the group demanding documents, would NRDC spend so much effort fawning over our adversary’s imperfect environmental record while attacking the Trump administration’s stewardship? — Evan Halper, latimes.com, "Is that environmental group a pawn of Beijing? Nonprofits wary of being branded 'foreign agents'," 14 June 2018 Biarritz is San Sebastián's less fawned over but equally attractive cousin. — The Editors Of Gq, GQ, "8 European Beach Vacations That’ll Make Your Instagram Friends Jealous," 28 June 2018 Very little seems to unite Americans these days—except, apparently, their enjoyment in fawning over the rulers the Founding Fathers waged war to overthrow. — Heather Souvaine Horn, The New Republic, "Donald Trump, Meghan Markle, and America’s enduring obsession with the British royals," 12 July 2018 When shared on Twitter, the political ad was retweeted 40,000 times with many users also fawning over the message. — Fernando Ramirez, Houston Chronicle, "Why a Texas Democrat's ad is being hailed as a game-changer," 26 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The Eugene Police Department on Thursday made public a video and photo of Officer Shawni McLaughlin freeing a terrified fawn that got stuck in a backyard fence. — Fox News, "Body camera video shows Oregon officer rescuing fawn," 31 Aug. 2018 The San Francisco California Highway Patrol posted a photo of what happened after one of its patrolmen helped rescue a fawn from near the raging fire line. — Lorin Eleni Gill, The Seattle Times, "Highway Patrol officer rescues fawn from California wildfire," 31 July 2018 Representatives from Haven Wild Care’s fawn rescue program came to retrieve her within two hours. — Lorin Eleni Gill, The Seattle Times, "Highway Patrol officer rescues fawn from California wildfire," 31 July 2018 The designer also created new pieces for the de Menils, including the Lips sofa in fawn wool, which was inspired by the Man Ray painting Observatory Time: The Lovers (1934). — William Middleton, Town & Country, "How the De Menil Family Raised Good Taste to an Art Form," 7 Mar. 2018 The fawn wandered onto the deck of a Crows Pond Road home, where animal control officer Diane Byers and police Officer Christopher Vardakis arrived at 12:53 p.m., Chatham police said in a statement. — Laney Ruckstuhl, BostonGlobe.com, "Chatham police rescue injured fawn," 26 June 2018 Clearly not in the mood for a game of tag, the fawn playfully jumps back and forth, wagging its tail like a pup waiting on kibble. — Alexis Hobbs, Woman's Day, "Toddler Waddles Toward Baby Deer, What Happens Next is Absolutely Precious," 21 Aug. 2015 Many does in poor physical condition didn’t birth a fawn at all. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Texas’ deer population would welcome good soaking," 16 June 2018 An untitled piece features a frail fawn being swept up and away by a heavy, billowing opera cape. — James Charisma, latimes.com, "The hyper-real world of sculptor Erick Swenson comes to life at Honolulu museum," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fawn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for fawn

Verb

Middle English faunen, from Old English fagnian to rejoice, from fægen, fagan glad — more at fain

Noun

Middle English foun, from Anglo-French feun, foon young of an animal, from Vulgar Latin *feton-, feto, from Latin fetus offspring — more at fetus

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