Grovel
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈɡrɒvəl/ · Part of speech verb
Quick meaning: Grovel is a verb meaning (intransitive) To be prone on the ground.
Meaning
(intransitive) To be prone on the ground.
More Meanings
- (intransitive) To crawl.
- (intransitive) To abase oneself before another person.
- (intransitive) To be slavishly nice to someone or apologize in the hope of securing something.
- (intransitive) To take pleasure in mundane activities.
Example Sentences
She refused to grovel in front of the bully, standing her ground.
He hated to grovel, but he knew it was the only way to save his job.
He had to grovel before his boss after missing the important meeting.
In the tube station, the old ones who were on the way out / Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
Word Forms
- grovels
- groveling
- grovelling
- groveled
- grovelled
Synonyms for grovel
Depending on context, synonyms include creep, cringe, cower, crawl.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include crawl, creep, cower, cringe, slither, genuflect.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.