grovel 1 of 3

verb (1)

ˈgrä-vᵊl How to pronounce grovel (audio)
Definition of grovelnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

groveling

2 of 3

adjective

variants or grovelling
as in fawning

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

groveling

3 of 3

verb (2)

variants or grovelling
present participle of grovel
1
as in cringing
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
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 grovel
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
Verb
Cue the fine and the groveling league apology. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2026 Political courage is needed, especially from the cowardly, groveling Congress. — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 18 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for grovel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grovel
  1. cringe
  2. crawl
  3. flinch
  4. creep
  5. cower
  6. snake
  7. slide
  8. slither
Verb
  • This Father's Day, break out these silly (and slightly cringe-y) one-liners, puns, riddles, and jokes.
    — Jamie Fischer, Parents, 20 June 2026
  • Enervated cuteness and tryhard sincerity define a whole new wave of musicians, from Pittsburgh rockers feeble little horse to cringe-pop upcycler Worldpeace DMT to SoundCloud producer MASSI, whose songs spill with the tiny adorable detail of a toy train set.
    — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 15 June 2026
Definition of cringe
Verb
  • The lights off method is a simple means of identifying places in the garage where bugs or rodents might be crawling in.
    — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 7 July 2026
  • Their father dismounted, went down on foot, climbed the fence his son had crawled under.
    — Emily Ruskovich, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • With five seasons of Disney media training under their belts, the trio didn’t flinch.
    — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026
  • Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of flinch
Verb
  • Sizzling conditions will creep farther east by Monday, reaching the foothills of the Rockies and into more of the Plains.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
  • Throw it on before bed for a creeping loss of temporal traction and wild dreams.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 July 2026
Definition of creep
Verb
  • Democracies are composed of citizens with free will, not subjects cowering at the feet of rulers.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026
  • With several strippers, patrons and employees cowering in fear, the two men talk.
    — Selome Hailu, Variety, 1 June 2026
Definition of cower
Verb
  • Food trucks reopened after the storm and long lines snaked around the vendor area.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • The New River, which snakes through West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, may be one of the oldest river systems on earth.
    — Josh Laskin, Travel + Leisure, 3 July 2026
Definition of snake
Verb
  • The Real Madrid star played a give-and-go with captain Harry Kane and received the ball back in the center of the box, sliding it past the Mexican keeper and into the back of the net for a shock 2-0 lead that came in all of two minutes.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
  • Hydroplaning occurs when a vehicle begins to slide uncontrollably on wet roads.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 July 2026
Definition of slide
Verb
  • Here are seven solutions to keep these animals slithering past your yard.
    — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 6 July 2026
  • There are anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) currently slithering through the Florida Everglades.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
Definition of slither

Browse Nearby Words

grove
grovel
groveled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Grovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grovel. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on grovel

Nglish: Translation of grovel for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of xeric

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All