1
as in to cringe
to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission the way in which the abused dog would grovel whenever its owner came near

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2
as in to crawl
to move slowly with the body close to the ground because of their anatomy, bats can only grovel while moving along the ground

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grovel As the Cabinet went around the room, even some conservatives denounced the display of groveling before Trump. Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 30 Apr. 2025 Related Articles Letters: Apple’s biggest problem is groveling for Trump Trump’s commerce secretary says new electronics tariff exemptions are temporary, chip tariffs coming These Silicon Valley tech leaders donated to Donald Trump. Bloomberg, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2025 What begins as a modest levy swells into a sprawling system, where bureaucrats decide who pays, who benefits, and who grovels for exemptions. Jon Fleischman, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2025 Of course, that doesn’t apply in Trump’s government where merit is completely overridden by groveling and total worship of the president. Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for grovel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grovel
Verb
  • Encouraged to see Jones sorta respond, Mackie kept babbling on and on and on about his dad, unaware that everyone else in the room was cringing.
    Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
  • This isn’t the first time that Guthrie has publicly cringed over having to ask the question.
    Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • His fur was singed and bitten, his arm broken, and his mouth crawling with maggots.
    Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Amazon has already taken steps in recent months to prevent external AI agents from crawling its website, including those developed by OpenAI, Google and Meta.
    Ashley Capoot,Annie Palmer, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Snakes must move incredibly quickly to sink their fangs into prey before the victim flinches.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Other reptile species in the same room didn’t flinch.
    Clarissa Brincat, Scientific American, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Domestically, the president is also navigating creeping inflation that is threatening his party’s prospects in the midterm elections, with Democrats staking their return to power on fears of an affordability crisis.
    David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
  • But with Neo stepping into the household and taking on labor like housekeeping, job-seekers may have to compete with AI innovations creeping into the blue-collar world.
    Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • When the container arrived in Oakdale, Minn., Xiao Mao was found cowering under pallets — remarkably alive but emaciated and severely dehydrated.
    Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Lily, meanwhile, was found cowering beside the couch, with the guiltiest of expressions on her face.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Two incumbents — west Charlotte’s Thelma Byers-Bailey and Summer Nunn, whose district snakes along the county’s southern border — chose not to run for reelection to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education.
    Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Styled by Brad Goreski, Moore wore silver and ruby red drop earrings, a silver bracelet, and snaking rings.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Bregman goes to the Mets (and Mark Vientos slides over to first base) and Alonso goes to the Red Sox (and Triston Casas becomes a trade candidate).
    Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
  • And even with those two gone, Dubar slid down Boise State’s depth chart, managing just three carries for 12 yards so far in 2025.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • In video footage captured, the reptile can be seen slithering in between the front wheels of the car in search of an entry point underneath.
    Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
  • In one apt spooky season flourish, a pet snake features prominently in the clip, at one point slithering all over Offset’s grinning face.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Grovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grovel. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

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