1
variants
or grovelling
as in fawning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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.
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Recent Examples of grovel
Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025
But the argument that the US has often leveled — that China is a predatory actor on the world stage, using trade and investment to bend countries to its will — has become harder to make in a world where the president of the United States is bragging about the countries coming to grovel before him.
—Joshua Keating, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
It is predicated on fealty to the Big Lie, familial ties and a self-deprecating willingness to grovel before indecency.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 Dec. 2024
One moment involves Dickinson smashing up china and making Romy grovel on the floor to pick up the pieces.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grovel
Verb
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
But the argument that the US has often leveled — that China is a predatory actor on the world stage, using trade and investment to bend countries to its will — has become harder to make in a world where the president of the United States is bragging about the countries coming to grovel before him.
—Joshua Keating, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
It is predicated on fealty to the Big Lie, familial ties and a self-deprecating willingness to grovel before indecency.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 Dec. 2024
One moment involves Dickinson smashing up china and making Romy grovel on the floor to pick up the pieces.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grovel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grovel
Adjective
-
Softening the strongman The film starts with the loyal and somewhat obsequious journalist Pavel Zarubin interviewing Putin at the end of his long working day in the Kremlin, at 1:30 a.m.—
Peter Rutland,
The Conversation,
9 May 2025
-
At 11:30, as the simultaneously pompous and obsequious gate agent announces the passengers above gold status, the bit, already tilting toward insanity, leaves any attempt to portray a real airport behind and dives fully into Alice in Wonderland–level surrealism.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
His servile defense secretary has threatened to deploy the military in other cities.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
13 June 2025
-
Bahrain is ruled by Sunnis and has a mostly Shiite population permanently restless over its servile condition.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
After the model has been trained, companies can set system prompts, or guidelines, for how the model should behave to minimize sycophantic behavior.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2025
-
Schwartzman’s character, Souper—the poorest of the group, whose nickname is short for soup kitchen—gives off an insecure, sycophantic vibe that reminds me of an acolyte from Musk’s text messages.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
Women in the surrealist movement were often relegated to the role of the femme enfant – often young, beautiful women who were expected to be subservient to male artists.—
Mackenzie Farkus,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 May 2025
-
The relevance of what is happening in front of them falls subservient to rival scorelines.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Conway, an Irishman like Fennell, rides a motorbike, inspires worshipful devotion in his crew, and can free-dive to extraordinary depths.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
-
The secret in the biscuits is the pairing of cheddar with bacon, with the overall result being worshipful thanks from those who are lucky enough to partake.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Photo Gallery Feeling the heat, George accepts an offer to take the lead in a largely fictional and completely hagiographic biopic of (current) Egyptian President Al-Sisi.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
19 May 2025
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The hagiographic mode gave way to a more prosecutorial one.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grovel. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.
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