as in obsequious
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as in sycophancy
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Dissimilar Words
as in fussing
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a student who could not wait to fawn over the new teacher
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Recent Examples of fawning
Sarah Scott, Parents, 25 Aug. 2025
Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
With the Republican Congress fawning at his feet, the ideal of democracy that the will of the people governs the nation is being buried under multimedia waves of the autocratic ambition of wealth.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2026
The world has gotten a glimpse of the fawning, skeezy shamelessness of his famous hangers-on, but not enough to criminally implicate them.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
Carolyn is not given to fawning or ass-kissing — only hours before meeting John, Carolyn advises her friend that the best way to get a guy’s attention is to ignore him.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026
Beyoncé's Botticelli-esque waves are defined with ribbons of golden highlights that had audiences fawning.
—Audrey Noble, InStyle, 10 Feb. 2026
The flattery must forever escalate and grow more fawning, until every follower’s dignity is shorn away.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
And Williams and Storrie, the show’s stars, have become one of Hollywood’s favorite duos, with even fellow celebrities fawning over them.
—Natalie Bennett, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026
The culprits were Gen Zers fawning over how cute cozy Snoopy was, often on social media.
—Malia Mendez, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Noun
According to Gaiani, drinking or using drugs before social situations is a major sign that your teen may be using alcohol to cope with fawning and to feel more comfortable or confident.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
Infantino’s gesture might strike people unacquainted with World Cup history as shamelessly fawning.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
With the Republican Congress fawning at his feet, the ideal of democracy that the will of the people governs the nation is being buried under multimedia waves of the autocratic ambition of wealth.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2026
The world has gotten a glimpse of the fawning, skeezy shamelessness of his famous hangers-on, but not enough to criminally implicate them.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
Carolyn is not given to fawning or ass-kissing — only hours before meeting John, Carolyn advises her friend that the best way to get a guy’s attention is to ignore him.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026
Beyoncé's Botticelli-esque waves are defined with ribbons of golden highlights that had audiences fawning.
—Audrey Noble, InStyle, 10 Feb. 2026
The flattery must forever escalate and grow more fawning, until every follower’s dignity is shorn away.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
And Williams and Storrie, the show’s stars, have become one of Hollywood’s favorite duos, with even fellow celebrities fawning over them.
—Natalie Bennett, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026
The culprits were Gen Zers fawning over how cute cozy Snoopy was, often on social media.
—Malia Mendez, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fawning
Adjective
-
Trump’s Cabinet meetings might as well be filmed in North Korea what with the obsequious pandering before one of them dares speak.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Specific versions of ChatGPT have been singled out as being especially obsequious, and extreme cases have led to breaks with reality and explosions of violence.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Serious concerns about reliability, sycophancy, and hallucinations remain.—
Alexandra Sifferlin,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
-
None of the companies directly commented on the Science study on Thursday but Anthropic and OpenAI pointed to their recent work to reduce sycophancy.—
Matt O'Brien,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ever the dedicated mother, Stacy runs to her adult daughter’s aid, fussing at her for not using a driver for her errands.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Your son is fussing in his car seat.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That this man’s-man tough guy becomes utterly servile in the presence of a bunch of slack-casual bazillionaires is the cherry on top of the fascist sundae.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Julia was the first weekly TV series that starred a Black woman in a role that wasn't servile.—
Starr Rocque,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The two bonded over Crane’s adoration of the 1930s fictional detective Nero Wolfe and the formative subject of their fathers.—
Annie Vainshtein,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
-
But the highlight of the ceremony is the adoration of the cross, which in many cases is held up near the altar as the faithful line up to kiss it or touch it in reverence.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
These plants contain cardiac glycosides, which can cause unpleasant symptoms for dogs and cats alike, such as drooling, diarrhea, abdominal pain, abnormal heart rhythm, and even some neurologic signs.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Chewing on the bulbs can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, profuse drooling and burns to the mouth.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Hence the slavish social media posting, the manic email checking, the constant baked goods craving.—
Heidi Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
But with Sleep No More, premiering in Berlin’s Special Midnight section this week, the director makes a headlong plunge into horror — infusing the genre with black comedy and a pointed critique of humanity’s slavish worship of capitalism.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force subordinate to the IRGC and has played a key role in suppressing protests and enforcing government authority inside Iran.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Her costume and hair shows how Linda is restricted by her times, presumed as being subordinate to her husband.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fawning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fawning. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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