n.
Pronunciation: ' f ā -b ē - ə n
Function: adjective
Date: 1638
1 a : of, relating to, or in the manner of the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus known for his defeat of Hannibal in the Second Punic War by the avoidance of decisive contests b : CAUTIOUS , DILATORY
2 [the Fabian Society; from the members' belief in slow rather than revolutionary change in government] : of, relating to, or being a society of socialists organized in England in 1884 to spread socialist principles gradually
– Fabian noun
– Fa · bi · an · ism \ - ə - ˌ ni-z ə m \ noun