grovel
verb
grov·el
| \ ˈgrä-vᵊl
, ˈgrə-
\
, ˈgrə-
\
groveled
or grovelled;
groveling
or grovelling
Definition of grovel
1
: to creep with the face to the ground : crawl
2a
: to lie or creep with the body prostrate in token of subservience or abasement
groveled at the feet of the king
b
: to abase oneself
would not grovel for political advantage
3
: to give oneself over to what is base or unworthy : wallow
groveling in self-pity
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Other Words from grovel
groveler
\ ˈgrä-vᵊl-ər
, ˈgrə- \
noun
, ˈgrə- \
noun
grovelingly
\ ˈgrä-vᵊl-iŋ-lē
, ˈgrə- \
adverb
, ˈgrə- \
adverb
Examples of grovel in a Sentence
The peasants groveled before the king.
He had to grovel to get her to accept his apology.
He made a groveling apology to his girlfriend.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Then-Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh was literally prowling the halls—really, every college coach in the country was prepared to grovel for Luck’s services. — Conor Orr, SI.com, "Everything Andrew Luck Was, Is and Will Be," 3 Sep. 2019 But luxury brands—whose largest single market is often China—offered grovelling apologies. — The Economist, "China’s thin-skinned online nationalists want to be both loved and feared by the West," 22 Aug. 2019 The season kicks off with Kendall forced to grovel to his father after his accident and failed coup while sister Shiv positions herself for a promotion. — Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, "Media, Money and Murdochs: How 'Succession' Became the Perfect Show for the Trump Era," 31 July 2019 Black people are only fit to live underground like groveling goblins. — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, "Twitter apologizes after conservative commentator Candace Owens was briefly locked out of her account," 6 Aug. 2018 And after all of this, Emily Gilmore is still groveling for time with her. — Diana Bruk, Country Living, "Lorelai Gilmore Is Seriously The Worst," 5 Dec. 2016 Hardly a surprise we are treated like Panama or El Salvador when government grovels for favours. — Margaret Hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Admitting He Feels ‘Unwelcome,’ Trump Finds New Ways to Offend the British," 13 July 2018 The site was unblocked only after the company’s chief executive issued a grovelling public apology. — The Economist, "A deadline looms in China’s battle with foreign firms over Taiwan," 5 July 2018 Trump’s behavior in office has borne out all these assessments, yet their authors now grovel before him. — Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "The GOP Is Trump’s Personality Cult. Could Democrats Do the Same?," 27 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grovel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for grovel
grovel
verb
English Language Learners Definition of grovel
: to kneel, lie, or crawl on the ground
: to treat someone with too much respect or fear in a way that shows weakness in order to be forgiven or to gain approval or favor
See the full definition for grovel in the English Language Learners Dictionary
grovel
verb
grov·el
| \ ˈgrä-vᵊl
, ˈgrə-\
, ˈgrə-\
groveled
or grovelled;
groveling
or grovelling
Kids Definition of grovel
1
: to kneel, lie, or crawl on the ground (as in fear)
2
: to act toward someone in a weak or humble way
He groveled before the king.
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