groveled

variants or grovelled
past tense of grovel
1
as in recoiled
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 crawled
to move slowly with the body close to the ground because of their anatomy, bats can only grovel while moving along the ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for groveled
Verb
  • Blazy, a Parisian born and bred, recoiled from the claim.
    Nathan Heller, Vogue, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Some recoiled at the launch and others quit their positions.
    Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Modern Wall Street has killed just about everything cool that walks or crawled at one time or another.
    Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The van’s driver then crawled out of his vehicle’s window, crossed over a median and was instantly struck by a car speeding in the opposite direction, which was broadcast by the news helicopter following the chase.
    Brian Niemietz, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Sharen Gibson, 72, never flinched.
    Barbara Bry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
  • But none of the band members ever flinched over the divide that formed over their pre- and post-Vheissu sound.
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Saudi Arabia's oil revenue slid 24% in the first half of 2025 from a year earlier.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Takaichi, whose party commands a minority government and has slid in successive elections, has little room for error during her tenure.
    Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Anyone living in one of the dozens of surrounding villages, such as Nazareth, who was not rounded up must have cowered in fear behind closed doors or hidden in the various underground cisterns and hewn chambers beneath the ancient houses and courtyards of the Jewish villages.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
  • In one incident, a predator, confirmed by a state biologist to have been a wolf, attacked an elk on the front steps of a home in Sierra County as the college-age son of the owner cowered inside, alone and afraid amid the growls and thumps that were shaking the front door.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Zelina slithered on the ramp in a snake-like manner as Black stood behind her.
    Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
  • In August, Kravitz told Meyers that her mom's pet snake, Orpheus, had gotten loose and slithered into a small hole in the corner of the bathroom.
    Bryan West, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This isn’t the first time that Guthrie has publicly cringed over having to ask the question.
    Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
  • During a hospital stay, Roy’s enfeebled mother fixates on the caste and religious affiliations of the doctors treating her—the sort of thing that will be familiar to anyone who has cringed at a diminished elder’s unfiltered prejudices.
    Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Finally, the day arrived, and my friend Kelly Curtis and then-girlfriend Nancy Wilson were crouched behind the camera with Amy.
    Cameron Crowe, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Right then, crouched on the floor of MacDowell’s Cheney studio, Luise discovered a whole new way of working.
    Grace Edquist, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Groveled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groveled. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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