What does Grovel mean?

Definitions for Grovel
ˈgrɒv əl, ˈgrʌv-grov·el

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Grovel.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. fawn, crawl, creep, cringe, cower, grovelverb

    show submission or fear

Wiktionary

  1. grovelverb

    To be prone on the ground.

  2. grovelverb

    To crawl

  3. grovelverb

    To abase oneself before another person.

  4. grovelverb

    To be nice to someone or apologize in the hope of securing something.

  5. grovelverb

    To take pleasure in mundane activities.

  6. Etymology: From á grufu (> Old Norse grúfa).

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To Grovelverb

    Etymology: grufde, Islandick, flat on the face. It may perhaps come by gradual corruption from ground feel.

    The steel-head passage wrought,
    And through his shoulder pierc’d; wherewith to ground
    He groveling fell, all gored in his gushing wound. Fa. Qu.

    What see’st thou there? king Henry’s diadem,
    Inchas’d with all the honours of the world!
    If so, gaze on, and grovel on thy face,
    Until thy head be circled with the same. William Shakespeare, Hen. IV.

    Now they lie
    Groveling and prostrate on yon lake of fire. John Milton, Par. Lost.

    Upon thy belly groveling thou shalt go. John Milton, Par. Lost.

    Let us then conclude that all painters ought to require this part of excellence: not to do it, is to want courage, and not dare to shew themselves: ’tis to creep and grovel on the ground. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.

    I must disclaim whate’er he can express;
    His groveling sense will show my passion less. Dryden.

    Several thoughts may be natural which are low and groveling. Joseph Addison, Spectator.

ChatGPT

  1. grovel

    To grovel is to behave in a very humble or submissive way, often in a demeaning manner, usually to seek favor or forgiveness. It can also refer to crawling or lying prostrate on the ground out of fear or respect.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Groveladverb

    to creep on the earth, or with the face to the ground; to lie prone, or move uneasily with the body prostrate on the earth; to lie fiat on one's belly, expressive of abjectness; to crawl

  2. Groveladverb

    to tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to be low, abject, or mean

  3. Etymology: [From OE. grovelinge, grufelinge, adv., on the face, prone, which was misunderstood as a p. pr.; cf. OE. gruf, groff, in the same sense; of Scand. origin, cf. Icel. grfa, in grfu on the face, prone, grfa to grovel.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Grovel

    grov′el, v.i. to crawl on the earth, esp. in abject fear, &c.: to be base or mean:—pr.p. grov′elling; pa.p. grov′elled.n. Grov′eller.—adj. Grov′elling, mean. [Explained by Skeat as due to M. E. groveling, flat on the ground, properly an adv., also grofling—Ice. grûfa.]

The New Hacker's Dictionary

  1. grovel

    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.”

Anagrams for Grovel »

  1. Glover

  2. glover

How to pronounce Grovel?

How to say Grovel in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Grovel in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Grovel in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of Grovel in a Sentence

  1. The President:

    If you're going to do it, the way to do it is make the Chinese come to us, let them grovel for a bit and then respond. You don't give them what they want up front. What do we get if he does that ? Nothing.

  2. Emmanuel Nahshon:

    What happened (in Zurich) proves that the nuclear deal ... created an unbridled incentive to pour billions of dollars into Iran without it being required to changes its policy of terror and belligerence, greed begets attempts to grovel before the Iranian regime, with attendant loss of basic sense and self-respect.

  3. Sarah Solomon:

    I wanted to travel more — I didn’t want to have to ask for time off and grovel for extra days, you know?

  4. John Adams:

    It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Grovel#100000#116571#333333

Translations for Grovel

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • arrossegarCatalan, Valencian
  • katzbuckeln, schleimen, kriechen, auf dem Bauch rutschenGerman
  • arrastrarseSpanish
  • دمر خوابیدنPersian
  • ryömiä, rypeä, nöyristellä, mielistellä, olla, rähmällään, madellaFinnish
  • s'abaisserFrench
  • התרפסHebrew
  • उताने पड़ जानाHindi
  • giacere bocconi, umiliarsi, ingraziarsi, strisciare, abbassarsi, grufolarsi, giacere pronoItalian
  • kruipenDutch
  • пресмыкатьсяRussian

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"Grovel." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Grovel>.

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    causing disapproval or protest
    A obnoxious
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