# fawn response

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. An overadaptation in response to a traumatic event entailing needs and wants being succumbed to those of the threat actor.

## Etymology
Coined by American psychotherapist Pete Walker in 2009, defining a fourth typology of responses to post-trauma stress in addition to fight, flight, and freeze.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fawn-response