grovel
Use Grovel in a sentence
əl, ˈgrɒv- verb (used without object), grov·eled, grov·el·ing or ( especially British ) grov·elled, grov·el·ling.
1.
to humble oneself or act in an abject manner, as in great fear or utter servility.
2.
to lie or crawl with the face downward and the body prostrate, especially in abject humility, fear, etc.
3.
to take pleasure in mean or base things.
Origin:
1585–95; back formation from obsolete groveling (adv.), equivalent to obsolete grufe face down (< Old Norse ā grūfu face down) + -ling2, taken to be present participle
1585–95; back formation from obsolete groveling (adv.), equivalent to obsolete grufe face down (< Old Norse ā grūfu face down) + -ling2, taken to be present participle
Related forms
grov·el·er; especially British, grov·el·ler, noun
grov·el·ing·ly; especially British, grov·el·ling·ly, adverb
un·grov·el·ing, adjective
un·grov·el·ling, adjective
Synonyms
1. truckle, toady, fawn, kowtow, pander.
1. truckle, toady, fawn, kowtow, pander.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To grovel
00:10
Grovel
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
grovel (ˈɡrɒvəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , (US) -els, -elling, -elled, -els, -eling, -eled | |
| 1. | to humble or abase oneself, as in making apologies or showing respect |
| 2. | to lie or crawl face downwards, as in fear or humility |
| 3. | ( |
| [C16: back formation from obsolete groveling (adv), from Middle English on grufe on the face, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse ā grūfu, from grūfa prone position; see | |
| 'groveller | |
| —n | |
| 'grovelling | |
| —n, —adj | |
| 'grovellingly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
grovel
1593, Shakespearian back-formation of M.E. groveling, regarded as a prp. but really an adv., from O.N. grufe "prone" + obsolete adverbial suffix -ling (which survives also as the -long in headlong, sidelong); first element from O.N. a grufu "on proneness." Perhaps related to creep.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
grovel definition[ˈgrɑvlæ]
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
grovel definition
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."
[Jargon File]
Example sentences
Now, when the writers are increasingly marginalized and have to grovel for access, the relationship is frequently antagonistic.
But he does not want to grovel for a meaningful job with them, either.
If presidential candidates court the old now, in future they may grovel before them.
Even when her family panics, she refuses to grovel to get her job back.
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