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

• 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

Example Sentences

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

The BBC has previously investigated how Jhaj was able to hire hundreds of children to act as his fawning fans at a fake film premiere in London's Leicester Square in 2023.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2025

I’m looking up at him with this really fawning expression while he feeds the chickadee.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• flattering