fawn

¹ American  

[fawn] / fɔn /

noun

1. a young deer, especially an unweaned one.

2. a light yellowish-brown color.

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adjective

1. light yellowish-brown.

verb (used without object)

1. (of a doe) to bring forth young.

fawn ² American  

[fawn] / fɔn /

verb (used without object)

1. to seek notice or favor by flattery or servile behavior.

   The courtiers fawned over the king.

   Synonyms:

   kowtow, flatter, truckle, toady

2. (of a dog) to behave affectionately.

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fawn ¹ British  

/ fɔːn /

noun

1. a young deer of either sex aged under one year

2. 1. a light greyish-brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a fawn raincoat

3. (of deer) pregnant

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verb

1. (of deer) to bear (young)

fawn ² British  

/ fɔːn /

verb

1. to seek attention and admiration (from) by cringing and flattering

2. (of animals, esp dogs) to try to please by a show of extreme friendliness and fondness (towards)

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Other Word Forms

• fawner noun
• fawning adjective
• fawningly adverb
• fawningness noun
• fawnlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of fawn¹

1225–75; Middle English fawn, foun < Middle French faon, foun, feon ≪ Vulgar Latin *fētōn-, stem of *fētō offspring, derivative of Latin fētus fetus

Origin of fawn²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English fawnen, Old English fagnian, variant of fægnian “to rejoice, make glad,” derivative of fægen “happy”; fain

Example Sentences

The culprits were Gen-Zers fawning over how cute cozy Snoopy was, often on social media.

From Los Angeles Times

Is it a parable about the dangers posed by artificial intelligence and the fawning tendencies of large language models?

From Salon

At the sight of the emerald ring, their puzzled expressions disappeared and they began fawning on her shamelessly, for surely this was an English princess on holiday!

From Literature

Lavrenty Beria, the ruthless head of Stalin’s secret police and the dictator’s most fawning sidekick, fully expected to take the reins.

From Literature

Since the project’s release last Friday, critics have been quick to fawn over Allen’s return to music and Allen has been sure to let the press know the album is not fully based in fact.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crouch
• grovel