fashion 我们一般理解的意思是”时髦，时尚”，但在学术类文章里它通常不是这个意思，例如：
Dinosaurs were killed off in a rapid and brutal fashion by cataclysmic conditions that swept the world following the Chicxulub impact. （2021 年托福阅读真题）
在这个句子中，fashion 的意思是“（某种特殊的）方式”（实际上，所谓的”时髦”也就是”一种特殊的穿衣方式），一般以短语in (a) … fashion的形式出现，出现在较正式的语境中。例如：
His friends noticed that he was behaving in a strange fashion. [=behaving strangely]他的朋友注意到，他的行为很奇怪。
所以最开始的例句意思是：
Dinosaurs were killed off in a rapid and brutal fashion by cataclysmic conditions that swept the world following the Chicxulub impact. （2021 年托福阅读真题）恐龙是在希克苏鲁伯陨石撞击后席卷世界的大灾难中以快速和残酷的方式死亡的。
fashion除了作名词，还可以作动词，表示“制作，塑造”。实际上这个词来自于拉丁文 facere，意思就是“do, make”。例如：
Stone Age settlers fashioned necklaces from sheep’s teeth.石器时代的移居者用羊的牙做成项链。
这个用法在托福中也出现过：
Although these men fashioned and fired the ceramics, others were employed to paint the more elaborate figural vases. (TPO 59)虽然这些人负责制作和烧制陶瓷，但其他人则受雇为更精致的人物花瓶作画。
fashion 常见的衍生词有 ：
1⃣️fashionable，”时髦的，流行的”，例如：
Tea first became fashionable after the king of England married a Portuguese princess who loved tea. （TPO 53 Lecture 3）
2⃣️ old-fashioned “过时的”，相当于 out-dated，例如：
Unfortunately, many of the original stained glass windows were thought to be old-fashioned and they were actually destroyed, replaced by painted glass. (TPO 16 Lecture 4)