GROVELLING Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

groveling 1 of 2

adjective

variants or grovelling

as in fawning

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

groveling

2 of 2

verb

variants or grovelling

present participle of grovel

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

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

Verb

The 76ers, team sources said, had thought about the potential downside of Myers’ pitch being viewed as groveling publicly. — David Aldridge, New York Times, 25 July 2026 Abject, groveling apologies to Moss and everybody on the longevity team! — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for groveling

Adjective

As a friend — her friends all know that Bobbi was singular — ever thoughtful, never obsequious, sometimes obstinate, always honest.

— Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 6 July 2026
To cede all of that ground to the executive, and to do so in such an obsequious way, is shameful.

— KEN BURNS, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026

Definition of obsequious

Verb

Nidhi imagined the baby crawling around in her mother’s body, desperately seeking the uterus, and, failing to find it in its proper place, quietly shrivelling up and dying.

— Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
That happened in New York City in 2018, when at least a half dozen city buses were taken out of service after reports of bedbugs crawling on seats.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawling

Adjective

Unfortunately, Trump takes servile flattery as his due.

— Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2026
Of course, all of this convenient acquiescence will sound familiar in the United States, where our own Congress and Department of Justice have been nothing if not servile to a brazenly corrupt executive.

— Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026

Definition of servile

Verb

One instrument, used without flinching, does what rivals need elaborate machinery to pull off.

— Jamie Beaton, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Amy Adams’ Anna Bowden — who has a complicated history with Max as his former lawyer — peeks through the curtain to spy on him, flinching as Max insists on snapping his own broken finger into place.

— Benjamin VanHoose, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026

Definition of flinching

Verb

But when prices on everything from gas to groceries are steadily creeping upward, sticking to your plans for spending can feel like a losing battle.

— Becca Stanek, TheWeek, 17 Aug. 2026
On Widow’s Bay, a show currently decorated with 19 Emmy nominations, the line between cozy New England charm and creeping dread is often found in the details.

— Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of creeping

Adjective

Politicians in both parties are distancing themselves from an increasingly unpopular building boom faster than a sycophantic chatbot can flatter its user.

— Editorial Board, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
Always chipper, always sycophantic, and completely nonsensical.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of sycophantic

Browse Nearby Words

grovelers

groveling

grovels

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Style

“Groveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groveling. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of groveling

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

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