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

"All I could see on the surface was all these people fawning over him. It was extremely humiliating and embarrassing."

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2025

Saint-Simon knew that when kings embrace their own flattery, they open themselves to manipulation, and the writer viewed Louis XIV as an illusory absolutist who was in fact controlled by fawning scoundrels.

From Slate • May 30, 2025

“Veturius,” Faris grunts at me, and I’m relieved that he doesn’t treat me with the same fawning awe as everyone else.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Related Words

• flattering