Fawner
A fawner is a person who engages in excessive flattery or obsequious behavior to win favor or approval from others. This term often carries a negative connotation in modern contexts, highlighting how such insincerity can erode authentic relationships in workplaces, social circles, or politics.
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In psychology, 'fawning' is recognized as one of the four primary stress responses—alongside fight, flight, and freeze—first described by Pete Walker in his 2013 book on complex PTSD, where it's seen as a survival strategy involving people-pleasing to avoid conflict. This modern usage ties back to the word's ancient roots, showing how a term for flattery has evolved to explain deep-seated human behaviors in trauma therapy.
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