grovel

C2+ Topic:Verbs of Movement

US /ˈɡrʌvəl/ UK /ˈɡrɒvəl/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to behave in a servile way; to crawl abjectly

He refused to grovel before the committee for forgiveness.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to behave in a servile way;... cringe fawn kowtow toady crawl truckle cower

Opposites

domineer swagger

Word family

Derived forms grovelergroveling

Etymology

Back-formation from groveling (originally an adverb), from Middle English on grufe ('on the face, prone'), from Old Norse a grufu ('face down'), reanalyzed as a present participle.

á grúfu Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Verbs of Movement

# grovel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈɡrʌvəl
**IPA (UK):** ˈɡrɒvəl

## Meanings
1. to behave in a servile way; to crawl abjectly

## Examples
- He refused to grovel before the committee for forgiveness.

## Synonyms
- cringe
- fawn
- kowtow
- toady
- crawl
- truckle
- cower

## Antonyms
- domineer
- swagger

## Derived Forms
- groveler
- groveling

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: á grúfu

## Etymology
Back-formation from groveling (originally an adverb), from Middle English on grufe ('on the face, prone'), from Old Norse a grufu ('face down'), reanalyzed as a present participle.

## AI Etymology
Grovel is a back-formation from groveling (originally an adverb), from Middle English on grufe ('on the face, prone'), from Old Norse a grufu ('face down'), reanalyzed as a present participle. Its formation runs backward from an existing longer form, producing a shorter base that then carries the same family of senses. As a verb, it means "to behave in a servile way; to crawl abjectly", so the modern sense keeps the older action or relation visible. Relevant historical forms include Old Norse á grúfu. Derivative forms include groveler, groveling.

## Topics
- Verbs of Movement

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grovel

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