as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a student who could not wait to fawn over the new teacher
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Recent Examples of fawn
Cut to Yerin Ha’s Sophie Baek, the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood, fawning over the idea of attending a ball.
—
Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 25 Dec. 2025
Ebeling and Alvarez continued to shoot projects together and frequently sent each other mutually fawning messages.
—E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
Instead of supporting allies in NATO and Ukraine against aggressive Russian territorial expansion, the United States has proposed drastic cuts to defensive military support measures and played fawning host to Vladimir Putin.
—Time, 28 Oct. 2025
But there were – among the fawning compliments and the conviction an elusive peace was near – bits of good news for Ukraine.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fawn
Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 25 Dec. 2025
Ebeling and Alvarez continued to shoot projects together and frequently sent each other mutually fawning messages.
—E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
Instead of supporting allies in NATO and Ukraine against aggressive Russian territorial expansion, the United States has proposed drastic cuts to defensive military support measures and played fawning host to Vladimir Putin.
—Time, 28 Oct. 2025
But there were – among the fawning compliments and the conviction an elusive peace was near – bits of good news for Ukraine.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fawn
Verb
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Need to put a filling dinner on the table, but don't have a lot of time to fuss?—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
22 Dec. 2025
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Dunst doesn’t get fussed about that sort of thing.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This indulgent treat already has fans drooling—and many Costco members have been running to their local bakeries to see if the Cookie Bar Cake is still in stock.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Jan. 2026
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That’s a job for Hankton, who will still have an immensely talented unit, one most coaches would drool over.—
Cameron Teague Robinson,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Empire was a sinister, one-note shadow: faceless Storm Troopers, toadying fascistic generals, a cackling emperor, and of course Darth Vader, an enigmatic demon masked and cloaked in black.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
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The only other psychological need that rivals his thirst for toadying is the pursuit of .—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Unless Trump’s art of the deal is all about truckling to Putin.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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During the campaign, most of Trump’s fallen rivals blasted him in exceptional terms—before truckling to support him against Hillary Clinton.—
James Fallows,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2017
Verb
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At the White House, the unwell billionaire rambles, spews insults at those who refuse to kowtow and dozes off in meetings.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Jan. 2026
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Two years ago, she got fired from her $196,551 hack sinecure at the Cannabis Control Commission for not sufficiently kowtowing to the woke mob.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
22 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fawn. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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