Words / F / General

fawn

verb/fɔːn/

C2CEFR level
55/100Rarity: uncommon
NeutralRegister

To flatter and behave with servile deference to gain favour.

The courtiers fawned over the young prince, laughing at his every remark.

Similar: grovel, toady, kowtow

Origin: From Old English fægnian 'to rejoice', later 'to show delight like a dog'.

Topic: servility in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: servility