fawning

American  

[faw-ning] / ˈfɔ nɪŋ /

adjective

1. 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.

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noun

1. 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

• fawningness
  noun
• fawningly
  adverb

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fawning

Macron, under pressure to show he is not fawning over Trump, has already said the evening at Versailles will not be a "gala" dinner.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2025

Spago’s Wolfgang Puck makes an appearance in director Matt Tyrnauer’s half-interesting film, fawning over his longtime friend sitting next to him but not quite articulating the essence of their revolution: high-end branding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025

Khanum Taheri’s chaperoning made our meetings, if not gossip-proof, then less gossip-worthy, even if her borderline fawning on me clearly embarrassed Soraya.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• flattering