grovel

(grŏv'əl, grŭv'-)
intr.v., -eled, also -elled, -el·ing, -el·ling, -els, -els.

1. To behave in a servile or demeaning manner; cringe.
2. To lie or creep in a prostrate position, as in subservience or humility.
3. To give oneself over to base pleasures: "Have we not groveled here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?" (Walt Whitman).

[Back-formation from obsolete groveling, prone, face downward, from Middle English : (on) grufe, face downwards (from Old Norse ā grūfu , from grūfa, to grovel) + -ling, adv. suff.; see -ling².]

groveler grov'el·er n.

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meaning 'to behave obsequiously', has inflected forms grovelled, grovelling, and in American English also groveled, groveling.

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verb

To support slavishly every opinion or suggestion of a superior: bootlick, cringe, fawn, kowtow, slaver, toady, truckle. Informal apple-polish, brownnose, cotton. Slang suck up. Idioms: curry favor, dance attendance, kiss someone's feet, lick someone's boots. See over/under.

v

Definition: abase, demean oneself
Antonyms: boast

1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often used transitively with ‘over’ or ‘through’. “The file scavenger has been groveling through the /usr directories for 10 minutes now.” Compare grind and crunch. Emphatic form: grovel obscenely.

2. To examine minutely or in complete detail. “The compiler grovels over the entire source program before beginning to translate it.” “I grovelled through all the documentation, but I still couldn't find the command I wanted.”

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in. to fondle or pet.  They spent the whole time in the backseat groveling.

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IN BRIEF: Humble oneself. Also: To crawl or creep in fear.

Try not to grovel when you ask the judge for a pardon.

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For a list of words related to grovel, see:

• Mood and Intent - grovel: crawl in a submissive, facedown position

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See words rhyming with "groveler."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Grovel.

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - ligge næsegrus, krybe, ligge i støvet

Nederlands (Dutch)
slijmen, smeken, (nederig) op de grond kruipen

Français (French)
v. intr. - (fig) ramper (devant qn), marcher à quatre pattes

Deutsch (German)
v. - am Boden kriechen, sich erniedrigen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - σέρνομαι (σαν σκουλήκι), κυλιέμαι, (μτφ.) εξευτελίζομαι

Italiano (Italian)
strisciare, umiliarsi

Português (Portuguese)
v. - abaixar-se, rastejar, humilhar-se, satisfazer-se com torpezas

Русский (Russian)
падать ниц, пресмыкаться перед кем-л., низкопоклонство

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - humillarse, rebajarse, arrastrarse

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - kräla i stoftet, förnedra sig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
趴, 卑躬屈膝, 匍匐

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 趴, 卑躬屈膝, 匍匐

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 기다, 항복하다, 굽실거리다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - ひれ伏す, 平伏する, 屈服する, 卑下する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يحبو, يدب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮זחל, התרפס, התחנן לקבלת מחילה‬

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