as in obsequious
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in sycophancy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fawning
Adjective
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Rhodes scholars have long had a reputation for being obsequious careerists, transforming themselves into whatever the elite consensus of the day deems worthy.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
1 June 2024 -
There were cover stories on him and obsequious profiles.—
Cory Franklin,
Twin Cities,
2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Groupthink and sycophancy played a role in Iraqi decision-making, the records show, but not as much as might have been expected.—
Amatzia Baram,
Foreign Affairs,
1 July 2012
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Neither leaders of pharma nor finance had to engage in golf outings, tithing schemes, or sycophancy to gain Trump’s attention.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian,
TIME,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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His co-stars, like Will Ferrell’s savage Mugatu, Owen Wilson’s stoner hottie Hansel, and Nathan Lee Graham’s servile Todd — all so precise and well-defined in the original’s ravelike milieu — are doomed to retrace their old steps here.—
Sean Malin,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2024
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These officials could, in turn, redistribute some of their private goods among their own servile lieutenants, but the monarch retained ultimate power to grant or revoke their privileged status.—
Serhiy Kudelia,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Feb. 2014
Noun
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There’s nothing basic about Denzel’s adoration for his wife, though.—
Victoria Uwumarogie,
Essence,
25 Feb. 2025
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Kathy Bates earns her Oscar and then some, taking Annie's terrifying adoration for James Caan's Sheldon to a disturbing, hide-your-eyes level.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Nonetheless, the film’s tension is almost immediately diffused by a slavish devotion to the facts.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2025
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Yet in Kim’s slavish dedication to the Jeju haenyeo’s testimony, many questions that arise in this setting are left unexplored.—
Geoffrey Bunting,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Trump's recent rhetoric and aggressive tariff policies have revived concerns that his administration sees Canada as a subordinate economic partner rather than a sovereign ally.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
10 Mar. 2025
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The president is required by Article II Section 3 to enforce orders of the Supreme Court or subordinate federal tribunals.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Residents have complained about chases in their neighborhoods and around schools, hospitals, and places of worship.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
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Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, military installations, airports, universities, tourist attractions, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and government facilities.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This is what people like Alexander Hamilton and others fought for: To set up a system where we are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington.—
Hugh Cameron,
Newsweek,
20 Feb. 2025
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His real estate business, with finances overseen by a subservient non-CPA, committed so much deceit that the Trump Organization ended up convicted of tax crimes and its former chief financial officer went to jail—twice.—
Dan Alexander,
Forbes,
18 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Fawning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fawning. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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