groveling 1 of 2

variants or grovelling
present participle of grovel
1
as in flinching
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 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

groveling

2 of 2

adjective

variants or grovelling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for groveling
Verb
  • Your stronger body will give you the confidence that comes from moving without flinching.
    Dana Santas, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Share relevant proof that mirrors their situation, name your price without flinching, and close with one clear question.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Her grandkids are crawling into trouble.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The pair is seen crawling through a wildflower field, dancing, and jumping, but also hollering at each other, brandishing knives, and at some point, Lawrence licks a window with zeal.
    Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • And the supporters who responded to his complaints about overzealous Democrats aren’t recoiling.
    Jonathan J. Cooper, Twin Cities, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The moment was caught on camera by fans, with Bryan seen slightly recoiling after the hit.
    Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • In short, this is a smart gel where tiny sliding molecules act like both shock absorbers and stress indicators.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 14 Sep. 2025
  • As has become tradition, the ads will reference trends and conversations in college football like the coaching hot seat, flag planting and quarterbacks sliding in the draft.
    Kristi Dosh, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The Texas State Legislature was even more obsequious, approving a $15 million incentive package in 2013.
    Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
  • 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
Verb
  • The commuter, who was still wearing her pizzeria uniform, was captured on train surveillance video cowering as her attacker towered over her minutes before the attack.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The staff member can be seen cowering down to fend off the attack and then turns and squares up to the irate passenger, who’s wearing a green colored top and army green pants.
    Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 29 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The study team investigated 54 crouching burials that had previously been found at 11 archaeological sites.
    Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The animatronic Death Eater crouching on a bookshelf casts a spell, then Dolores Umbridge appears on a screen, then a rhinoceros-like Erumpent tries to gore the riders with its horn.
    Bianca Bosker, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Bahrain is ruled by Sunnis and has a mostly Shiite population permanently restless over its servile condition.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 13 June 2025
  • His servile defense secretary has threatened to deploy the military in other cities.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 June 2025
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

“Groveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groveling. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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