fawn

verb \ ˈfȯn , ˈfän \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of fawn

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.

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fawner

noun

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See fawn defined for kids

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Examples of fawn in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of fawn from the Web

Durkin fawned over Cowart to reporters on Tuesday amid the transfer's first spring with the Terps.

— tom green, AL.com, "Former Auburn defensive lineman, top recruit Byron Cowart finds 'sanctuary' at Maryland," 4 Apr. 2018
Other Arab nations such as Egypt do not deserve as much fawning attention to their politics.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "A guide to watching Arab elections," 30 Mar. 2018
Perhaps there is a tiny bit of jealousy in some corners of the locker room about the amount of fawning attention Antetokounmpo gets.

— gary d'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "D'Amato: With the regular season winding down, where the Bucks go from here is one big if," 29 Mar. 2018
Such resistance, according to Margolick, whose treatment of Kennedy tends to be deferential, even fawning, was political.

— benjamin hedin, chicagotribune.com, "50 years later: 'The Promise and the Dream' explores interrupted work of MLK and Robert Kennedy," 28 Mar. 2018
For some sets of supporters, such rituals have captured the imagination further afield and are widely fawned upon.

— SI.com, "7 of the Best Fan Rituals Around the World," 26 Mar. 2018
Nothing but fawning over his abilities in a light rain, with no wind.

— eric forster, latimes.com, "Letters: Putting a damper on Sam Darnold's pro day," 23 Mar. 2018
Ninja is currently the top video game streamer on the internet and one of his avid followers is Drake, who played the role of fawning fanboy to the gamer during their casual shooting-and-chatting session.

— ryan smith, Chicago Reader, "News / Technology / The Internet The nation's hottest entertainer right now is a suburban Chicago video game streamer named Ninja," 19 Mar. 2018
The annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) prompts two weeks of even-more-fawning-than-usual coverage in state media of the wondrous achievements of Xi and the party.

— simon denyer, Washington Post, "In China, a reporter’s dramatic eye-roll went viral. Then searches of it were censored.," 13 Mar. 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.

Did You Know?

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."

Origin and Etymology of fawn

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

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fawn Synonyms

Phrases

curry favor, kiss up to;

Synonym Discussion of fawn

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

fawn

noun

Definition of fawn

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

2 : kid 2

3 : a light grayish brown

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fawny

play \ˈfȯ-nē, ˈfä-\ adjective

See fawn defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of fawn from the Web

For instance, a fawn lying quietly by itself with no mother in sight is perfectly normal.

— guest columnist/cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Does baby wildlife need our help?: Amy LeMonds," 25 Mar. 2018
In this Saturday, March 17, 2018 photo Senior Coast Guard, Kristian Rastedt, attempts to rescue a fawn stranded on the ice on the Inkoo archipelago in southern Finland.

— Washington Post, "Finland: Coast guard gives unsteady fawn a hand off ice," 19 Mar. 2018
Their fawns died from starvation, then the mothers would starve to death, too.

— alex devoid, azcentral, "Back from the brink, the Sonoran pronghorn now roam an increasingly political landscape," 27 Mar. 2018
Being marsupials, the mother opossums will carry their young for several months, so the babies may start roaming the woods and our yards in May. Mid-May to June will be the debut for fawns.

— paige fumo fox, Daily Southtown, "Need a cuteness fix? Where to spy, sometimes pet, baby animals," 26 Mar. 2018
Two dogs — a fawn and white boxer named Porsche and a black and white Pit mix named Chloe — were brought to the dog warden Thursday morning showing signs of severe malnourishment.

— Cincinnati.com, "Butler County dog warden: Boxer found in critical condition making progress," 25 Mar. 2018
After it was caught, the snake began to regurgitate the fawn.

— doug phillips, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Python gluttony: The deer was larger, but she ate it anyway," 2 Mar. 2018
Easterling said, noting that the 35-pound fawn clocked in in at 111 percent the weight of the 31.5-pound python.

— jared gilmour, miamiherald, "This 11-foot python had a huge food bulge. Biologists watched it regurgitate a deer. | Miami Herald," 1 Mar. 2018
Her legs split like a fawn trying to stand on a frozen pond.

— barry svrluga, chicagotribune.com, "Olympic bronze doesn't begin to tell the story of Lindsey Vonn, the greatest female ski racer of all time," 21 Feb. 2018

Origin and Etymology of fawn

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year