grovel v : show submission or fear [syn: fawn, crawl, creep, cringe, cower] [also: grovelling, grovelled]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɒvəl

Verb

1. To be prone on the ground
2. To crawl
3. To abase oneself before another person
4. To be nice to someone or apologise in the hope of securing something.

Usage notes

• The spellings grovelling and grovelled are more common in the UK. Groveling and groveled are more common in the US.

Translations

apple-polish, be promiscuous, bend, bend the knee, bend the neck, bend to, bootlick, bow, bow and scrape, bow down, bow to, chase women, commit adultery, couch, cower, crawl, creep, cringe, cringe to, crouch, crouch before, curtsy, debauch, dissipate, do homage, do obeisance, fawn, flatter, flounder, fornicate, genuflect, get down, go on tiptoe, gumshoe, hug the earth, hunch, hunch down, inch, inch along, kneel, kneel to, knuckle to, kowtow, lay, lick the dust, lickspittle, lie, lie down, lie flat, lie limply, lie low, lie prone, lie prostrate, lie under, loll, lounge, nightwalk, pad, philander, prowl, pussyfoot, rake, recline, repose, roll, scrabble, scramble, scrouch down, sidle, sleep around, slink, snake, sneak, sprawl, squat, steal, steal along, stoop, swing, tippytoe, tiptoe, toadeat, toady, truckle, truckle to, tumble, underlie, wallow, wanton, welter, whore, womanize, worm, worm along