groveled or grovelled; groveling or grovelling
1
: to creep with the face to the ground : crawl
2
a
: to lie or creep with the body prostrate in token of subservience or abasement
groveled at the feet of the king
b
: to abase oneself
would not grovel for political advantage
3
: to give oneself over to what is base or unworthy : wallow
groveling in self-pity
Examples of grovel in a Sentence
The peasants groveled before the king.
He had to grovel to get her to accept his apology.
He made a groveling apology to his girlfriend.
Recent Examples on the Web
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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Grovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grovel. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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