Synonyms

fawning

American

[faw-ning] / ˈfɔ nɪŋ /

adjective

seeking favor by flattery or a servile way of behaving.

The billionaire’s donation earned him a fawning front-page news story in the Globe and Mail.
This detailed and favorable book review is not a fawning endorsement, as the reviewer takes the author to task on several points.

noun

the act or practice of seeking favor by flattery or a servile way of behaving.

On the second-last night of the cruise, we witnessed the fawning of the ship’s wait staff as they jockeyed for a healthy tip.

Other Word Forms

fawningly adverb
fawningness noun

Etymology

Origin of fawning

First recorded in 1325–75; fawn ² + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective; fawn ² + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun

Explanation

Use fawning to describe someone who's over the top in the flattery department. Like a fawning admirer who just won't stop complimenting your looks, showering you with gifts and otherwise kissing the ground you walk on. From the Old English fægnian, meaning “rejoice, exult, be glad,” fawning can be both an adjective and a noun form of the verb fawn. Fawning people are often trying to win favor with the person being flattered, and it sometimes comes off as sucking up. So do everyone a favor and don't try to boost your poor grades by fawning over your professor’s every word.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The correspondence shows Karp, a consigliere to NFL owners and the head of Citigroup, thanking Epstein with fawning emails for having him to one of his dinner parties.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

On Comedy Central, Stewart took a similar satirical approach, becoming a fawning and "patriotically obediant host" of an "all-new government approved Daily Show".

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2025

The clip was underlaid by fawning discussion of his “mythical” rise from the outer boroughs to the White House.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2025

His teacher insisted on calling him “Elder Antain” in a breathy fawning voice, even though he wasn’t an elder yet, and gave him top marks no matter what kind of work he did.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023