grovel
verb
grov·el ˈgrä-vᵊl 
ˈgrə-
ˈgrə- groveled or grovelled; groveling or grovelling
intransitive verb
1
: to creep with the face to the ground : crawl
2
a
: 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
groveler
ˈgrä-vᵊl-ər
noun ˈgrə-
grovelingly
ˈgrä-vᵊl-iŋ-lē
adverb ˈgrə-
Synonyms
- cower
- cringe
- quail
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples on the Web Thank goodness we were spared a runoff pitting two Trump grovelers trying to out-grovel each other. 
Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2022 Before the month was over McCarthy visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago to grovel for forgiveness. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Apr. 2022 And for some teams expected to contend, perhaps there’s no need to grovel for their fans’ attention. Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 31 Mar. 2022 DeSantis has not been as willing to grovel at the prospect of a 2024 Trump candidacy as some other ambitious Republicans have. Chris Cillizza, CNN, 16 Mar. 2022 Soon McCarthy was on a flight to Palm Beach, Fla., to grovel and beg forgiveness. Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2022 Even Trump had to grovel a bit in 2016 after the Access Hollywood tape came out. Joel Mathis, The Week, 27 Oct. 2021 Some African feminists argue that to wear a long, straight-haired wig or hair extension is to grovel to Western ideals of beauty. The Economist, 15 Aug. 2020 Ask, grovel, inquire, whatever. Do it now before those credits start to expire. Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2020 See More
Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2022 Before the month was over McCarthy visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago to grovel for forgiveness. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Apr. 2022 And for some teams expected to contend, perhaps there’s no need to grovel for their fans’ attention. Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 31 Mar. 2022 DeSantis has not been as willing to grovel at the prospect of a 2024 Trump candidacy as some other ambitious Republicans have. Chris Cillizza, CNN, 16 Mar. 2022 Soon McCarthy was on a flight to Palm Beach, Fla., to grovel and beg forgiveness. Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2022 Even Trump had to grovel a bit in 2016 after the Access Hollywood tape came out. Joel Mathis, The Week, 27 Oct. 2021 Some African feminists argue that to wear a long, straight-haired wig or hair extension is to grovel to Western ideals of beauty. The Economist, 15 Aug. 2020 Ask, grovel, inquire, whatever. Do it now before those credits start to expire. Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
back-formation from groveling prone, from groveling, adverb, from Middle English, from gruf, adverb, on the face (from Old Norse ā grūfu) + -ling
First Known Use
1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
grovel
verb
grov·el ˈgrä-vᵊl
ˈgrə-
groveled or grovelled; groveling or grovelling
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.
groveled
verb
variants or grovelled
1
as in recoiled
to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission the way in which the abused dog would grovel whenever its owner came near Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- recoiled
- cowered
- flinched
- cringed
- quailed
- fawned
- blanched
- kowtowed
- whitened
- toadied
- shrunk
- shrank
- blenched
- squinched
2
as in crawled
to move slowly with the body close to the ground because of their anatomy, bats can only grovel while moving along the ground Synonyms & Similar Words
- crawled
- slithered
- slid
- crouched
- wriggled
- snaked
- squatted
- bellied
- crept
- wormed
- nosed
- skulked
- tiptoed
- stole
- inched
- edged
- sneaked
- snuck