1
variants
or grovelling
as in fawning
Related Words
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.
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Recent Examples of grovel
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
For all its faults, Survivor stands as the most influential reality TV show of all time, and to see Probst essentially grovel at the feet of Mr. Beast to get some of his audience share is genuinely icky.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for grovel
Verb
The stringent businessman makes Marty suffer and grovel for his money, at one point exerting his power by spanking the young man’s bare bottom with a wooden ping-pong paddle.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
For all its faults, Survivor stands as the most influential reality TV show of all time, and to see Probst essentially grovel at the feet of Mr. Beast to get some of his audience share is genuinely icky.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 19 Dec. 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
See All Example Sentences for grovel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grovel
Adjective
-
Specific versions of ChatGPT have been singled out as being especially obsequious, and extreme cases have led to breaks with reality and explosions of violence.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
11 Mar. 2026
-
In fact, the obsequious Barack Obama and the hapless Joe Biden helped Iran by sending in plane loads of cash to the murdering mullahs in exchange for nothing.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
7 Mar. 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
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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
Adjective
-
Participants in the new study, which was published today in Science, preferred the sycophantic AI models to other models that gave it to them straight, even when the flatterers gave participants bad advice.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2026
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Hammed Animashaun was on standby as a sycophantic deputy PM, David Lammy.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Why, Buren asked, should the artist accept this subservient role?—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
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And yet, as a prophet of capitalism, in the regimented ballet of the pin-makers Smith intuited Henry Ford’s assembly line, of how the entire world would become subservient to manufacturing and finance.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Essentially worshipful in its view of Lee, the movie never acknowledges that one person drawing so much unbridled admiration is more than a little creepy.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
25 Dec. 2025
-
But while his adoration does have an erotic edge to it (see: The Shape of Water), on the whole, his affection for the misshapen and the outcast among us is more worshipful than overtly lusty.—
Katie Rife,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
But all the myth and sorrow around the dynasty mean many takes tilt hagiographic.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The Gracious Visionary is a rather hagiographic film title for one’s life and work.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grovel. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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