variants
or grovelling
as in fawning
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
variants
or grovelling
1
2
as in crawling
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
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 groveling
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 18 Jan. 2026
That’s the saddest cash-grab gimmick ever, groveling for Dubai dollars.
—Sports Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Jan. 2026
Rather than wait it out until January 2029, when magical thinking assumes the current transatlantic nightmare will come to an end, the EU needs to stop groveling and build greater sovereignty.
—Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2025
Continue reading … POINTING FINGERS – Former vice president accuses newspaper owners of 'groveling' to Trump in new book.
—FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
Political courage is needed, especially from the cowardly, groveling Congress.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 18 Jan. 2026
That’s the saddest cash-grab gimmick ever, groveling for Dubai dollars.
—Sports Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Jan. 2026
Rather than wait it out until January 2029, when magical thinking assumes the current transatlantic nightmare will come to an end, the EU needs to stop groveling and build greater sovereignty.
—Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2025
Continue reading … POINTING FINGERS – Former vice president accuses newspaper owners of 'groveling' to Trump in new book.
—FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groveling
Verb
-
Dermatologists are literally cringing about it.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The movie’s real sympathetic figure is Hall, played by Dacre Montgomery, who spends most of the movie cringing and flinching, while trying not to move.—
Mick LaSalle,
San Francisco Chronicle,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
There were cardboard boxes strewn around the entirety of the house, and Ellie and Oscar were crawling in and out of them, playing hide-and-seek.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The tense battle culminates in the Beliskner being destroyed, in turn killing all the Replicators, except for one, which is seen crawling out of the ocean, setting up future battles with this duplicating menace.—
Daryl Baxter,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The millennial-Gen Z generational divide, both sides fighting over scraps of a shrinking pie while still in smiling, obsequious service to aging boomers, is an enticing hook made more so by meta casting.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Josh is married to Lindsay (Carey Mulligan), an upper-crust Brit who has all the external status markers that Josh lacks, but perhaps not his obsequious gifts or ambition.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Knorr and other team officials were in the room, but Stammen helped lead it without flinching.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The Alpha Wave acquisition suggests the Gulf’s biggest dealmakers aren’t flinching at opportunities in the US or being slowed by the war in Iran.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The footage showed Miles tied up to a punching bag while being interrogated by Uncle Aaron and Prowler Miles creeping above on the ceiling.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Rich, neutral, moist, well-draining Sedum (also known as stonecrop) comes in creeping or upright varieties.—
Peg Aloi,
The Spruce,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That this man’s-man tough guy becomes utterly servile in the presence of a bunch of slack-casual bazillionaires is the cherry on top of the fascist sundae.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Julia was the first weekly TV series that starred a Black woman in a role that wasn't servile.—
Starr Rocque,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Picture waking up on a sunny morning, sliding floor-to-ceiling glass doors open, and stepping out onto a balcony to catch the sea breeze.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The living room is bright and airy with warm woods, vaulted ceilings, and sliding glass doors that let in ample light and lead out to a stone patio.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Over half a dozen wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI, many centering on its GPT-4o model for ChatGPT, which was particularly sycophantic.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The researchers also found that humans who interacted with a sycophantic chatbot were less likely to apologize or take steps to make amends.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Groveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groveling. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
