as in fussing
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in obsequious
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in sycophancy
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fawning
Sarah Scott, Parents, 25 Aug. 2025
The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 14 Sep. 2025
Rob Reiner is back as fawning filmmaker Marty DiBergi, with cameos including Elton John, Questlove and Paul McCartney.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025
And power structures everywhere reinforce, reward even require fawning.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Their Instagram announcement—a carousel of the couple's lavish garden engagement photoshoot—has been liked more than 35 million times since it was posted on August 26, with Swifties around the world fawning over the singer's gigantic ring.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
President Bill Clinton gave a speech about the historic moment, but the media coverage was not uniformly fawning.
—F.d. Flam, Twin Cities, 6 Aug. 2025
Ice Spice takes the baton, rapping about how her figure and beauty always keep the guys fawning over her every word.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Adjective
According to Gaiani, drinking or using drugs before social situations is a major sign that your teen may be using alcohol to cope with fawning and to feel more comfortable or confident.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
Social media, then, too, was flooded with morally bankrupt leftists lauding the killing and fawning over the killer.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 14 Sep. 2025
Rob Reiner is back as fawning filmmaker Marty DiBergi, with cameos including Elton John, Questlove and Paul McCartney.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025
And power structures everywhere reinforce, reward even require fawning.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Their Instagram announcement—a carousel of the couple's lavish garden engagement photoshoot—has been liked more than 35 million times since it was posted on August 26, with Swifties around the world fawning over the singer's gigantic ring.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
President Bill Clinton gave a speech about the historic moment, but the media coverage was not uniformly fawning.
—F.d. Flam, Twin Cities, 6 Aug. 2025
Ice Spice takes the baton, rapping about how her figure and beauty always keep the guys fawning over her every word.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fawning
Verb
-
With five blades sandwiched between two moisturizing bars, this razor speeds up the entire process (no fussing around with shaving cream), nourishing dry skin and making nicks a rare occurrence.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
-
This was the mid 1980s and tandem skydiving hadn’t been popularized yet, so his father, Roger, adjusted accordingly by stuffing carpet padding into the leg pads to stop him from fussing.—
Angelina Liu,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The Texas State Legislature was even more obsequious, approving a $15 million incentive package in 2013.—
Guthrie Scrimgeour,
Rolling Stone,
17 June 2025
-
Softening the strongman The film starts with the loyal and somewhat obsequious journalist Pavel Zarubin interviewing Putin at the end of his long working day in the Kremlin, at 1:30 a.m.—
Peter Rutland,
The Conversation,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Even as tutor modes are refined and improved, students have to actively select that mode and, for now, also have to play along, deftly providing context and guiding the chatbot away from worthless, low-level questions or sycophancy.—
Brian W. Stone,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But there is another issue that is more subtle: sycophancy.—
Bernardo Martinez,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Symptoms may begin within minutes, which include heavy drooling—especially in cats—and redness on the skin and in or around the mouth.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Aug. 2025
-
On day eight of his partial paralysis, Nini finally stopped drooling and could now walk gingerly.—
Tao Lin,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Bahrain is ruled by Sunnis and has a mostly Shiite population permanently restless over its servile condition.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2025
-
His servile defense secretary has threatened to deploy the military in other cities.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
Over the past couple of months, the doting couple has continued to engage in digital PDA, commenting on one another’s posts and sharing their adoration for each other via interviews.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Acutis was known to spend hours in prayer before the Eucharist each day, a practice known as Eucharistic adoration.—
Jessie Wardarski,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
People who climb upward by sacrificing their integrity to slavish subservience almost always fall on their faces eventually.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
-
The film’s slavish dedication to its source material — the challenging of which would open its own can of worms — demands ignoring all potential complexity in favor of didactic conclusions.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
The secretary accused the AAP of kowtowing to corporate benefactors while ignoring the clear evidence that such vaccines are safe for children and can prevent serious illness.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fawning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fawning. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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