groveled

variants or grovelled
Definition of grovelednext
past tense of grovel
1
as in cringed
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

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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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for groveled
Verb
  • Mingione cringed when asked if any of his players had gotten hurt by a hit by pitch.
    Mitch Light, New York Times, 22 May 2026
  • For a decade, viewers have cringed at Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke’s rocky relationship, the dénouement of which is currently playing out on season ten of Summer House.
    Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • He was buried alive on a construction site and then poisoned by a venomous rattlesnake that crawled into his coffin and attacked him.
    Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
  • The truck driver crawled to the side of the road and the gunman fled.
    Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 26 May 2026
Verb
  • The executive producer and star points to earlier moments in the season, like when Ruben flinched at the sight of his dad through his bedroom window.
    Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 29 May 2026
  • However, Wall Street hasn’t flinched.
    Dylan Butts, CNBC, 29 May 2026
Verb
  • The Waffle House waitress said the building’s management was inattentive to a raft of deeper issues, from sewage backups that crept into her bathtub to mold and a malfunctioning air conditioning unit.
    Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 27 May 2026
  • At the other end of the spectrum, there were a number of clubs with lower possession numbers who crept into positions higher up the table.
    Jon Mackenzie, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Verb
  • The Russian ambassador cowered inside the pavilion.
    Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026
  • But Wednesday night, they were handed a harsh lesson from a true contender — one that smelled blood against a team that cowered and played scared to death from the 20-minute mark on.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 14 May 2026
Verb
  • Memory stocks — The chipmaker sell-off extended to memory stocks, which slid for another day.
    Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 5 June 2026
  • Sanchez slid into home and the ball appeared to loosen from the glove of Redwood catcher Aubrie Jenkins on a throw from left field by freshman Kyrie Rodriguez based on video replay.
    Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 4 June 2026
Verb
  • Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape snaked across the pavement and Secret Service officers placed dozens of orange evidence markers on the ground.
    Darlene Superville, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
  • Closing off the week will be Wooyoungmi, Sacai, KidSuper, and Celine, which hasn’t staged a runway show since 2023 and returned last season with an intimate presentation at its headquarters on the Rue Vivienne, with its collection hung on pegs and accessories snaked around the room.
    Hikmat Mohammed, Vogue, 22 May 2026
Verb
  • Later, a rattlesnake slithered through the opening and killed Nate.
    Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
  • Despite his efforts in yelling for help, that hole ended up being the very thing that killed him as a rattlesnake slithered into the coffin and fatally attacked him.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 30 May 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Groveled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groveled. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.

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