1
as in to cringe
to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission the way in which the abused dog would grovel whenever its owner came near

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2
as in to crawl
to move slowly with the body close to the ground because of their anatomy, bats can only grovel while moving along the ground

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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 grovel What begins as a modest levy swells into a sprawling system, where bureaucrats decide who pays, who benefits, and who grovels for exemptions. Jon Fleischman, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2025 Of course, that doesn’t apply in Trump’s government where merit is completely overridden by groveling and total worship of the president. Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025 But the argument that the US has often leveled — that China is a predatory actor on the world stage, using trade and investment to bend countries to its will — has become harder to make in a world where the president of the United States is bragging about the countries coming to grovel before him. Joshua Keating, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 It is predicated on fealty to the Big Lie, familial ties and a self-deprecating willingness to grovel before indecency. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for grovel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grovel
Verb
  • What is transgressive, indie and anti-woke today will one day be normie, derivative, and cringe.
    John McDermott, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2025
  • Her post-Sisterhood career has featured roles in horror flicks (The Grudge 2), cringe comedies (The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret), medical dramas (House), and sitcoms (Two and a Half Men).
    EW.com, EW.com, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • Silver floral detailing crawled along the right hip of the gown and the left side of Lohan’s midsection.
    Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 31 July 2025
  • Ever since Google emerged as the home page of the Web in the early 2000s, media outlets operated under the assumption that Google would reliably crawl their sites and send audience their way.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 31 July 2025
Verb
  • But thousands of miles away, executives at China’s leading autonomous driving firms didn’t flinch.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 15 July 2025
  • Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • So, how long will that last, especially with artificial intelligence seemingly creeping into every aspect of life?
    Andrew Montequin, jsonline.com, 29 July 2025
  • Across the Volunteer State, temperatures are expected to creep down as July ends and August begins.
    Joyce Orlando, The Tennessean, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • New Tax Brackets Most NBA teams are cowering in fear of the league's new second apron, as teams that cross said line face punishing team-building restrictions.
    Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
  • Montano is charged with first-degree murder and other felonies for allegedly shooting the officer after a chase as children cowered under a slide at a playground.
    Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 15 July 2025
Verb
  • Statistics from last May show that the number of visitors at the Vatican can reach 25,000 per day with massive ticket lines often snaking around the walls.
    Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 31 July 2025
  • During an ablation, a cardiac electrophysiologist snakes a catheter through a vein or artery, usually in the groin or the wrist, to get to the heart.
    Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
Verb
  • Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.
    KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT, Kansas City Star, 22 July 2025
  • Hankison shot 10 times through a sliding glass door that was covered with curtains.
    David Matthews, New York Daily News, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • On July 1, a snake slithered its way onto a Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne to Brisbane, per the Associated Press and ABC News.
    Colson Thayer, People.com, 10 July 2025
  • Literally every animal that can fly, walk, crawl or slither into your yard will do so at some point to eat your chickens, their eggs, and their food.
    Sal Gilbertie, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Grovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grovel. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

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