Antonyms for grovel
| Grammar : Verb |
| Spell : gruhv-uhl, grov- |
| Phonetic Transcription : ˈgrʌv əl, ˈgrɒv- |
Definition of grovel
Origin :- 1590s, Shakespearian back-formation of groveling (Middle English), regarded as a present participle but really an adverb, from Old Norse grufe "prone" + obsolete adverbial suffix -ling (which survives also as the -long in headlong, sidelong); first element from Old Norse a grufu "on proneness." Perhaps related to creep. Related: Groveled; grovelled; groveling; grovelling.
- verb abase, demean oneself
- Ali says she was like a wild beast, but he twisted her wrist and made her grovel in the dust.
- Extract from : « An Outcast of the Islands » by Joseph Conrad
- The women shriek and swoon, grovel on the ground, and tear their hair.
- Extract from : « The Pearl of the Antilles, or An Artist in Cuba » by Walter Goodman
- But don't let him have her, don't let him be happy with her, while I grovel here in shame!
- Extract from : « In a Little Town » by Rupert Hughes
- My clients came to me, singly and in pairs, to grovel and to implore.
- Extract from : « The Plum Tree » by David Graham Phillips
- Do you think that I have followed you here to grovel at your feet for mere whim?
- Extract from : « Tommy and Co. » by Jerome K. Jerome
- Then we grovel in the dust of a million years, and ask God why.
- Extract from : « Strictly Business » by O. Henry
- He wished he could frighten her, force her to grovel, but someone might try to stop him from doing it.
- Extract from : « Shaman » by Robert Shea
- So long as it continued to grovel in the depths, we could not think of setting out.
- Extract from : « The South Pole, Volumes 1 and 2 » by Roald Amundsen
- Are you to be happy, while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness?
- Extract from : « Frankenstein » by Mary W. Shelley
- And they grovel before me on the floor, placing all this plaything of a meal at my feet.
- Extract from : « Madame Chrysantheme Complete » by Pierre Loti
Synonyms for grovel
- apple-polish
- beg
- beg for mercy
- beseech
- blandish
- bootlick
- bow and scrape
- brown-nose
- butter up
- cater to
- court
- cower
- crawl
- creep
- cringe
- crouch
- eat crow
- eat dirt
- eat humble pie
- fall all over
- fawn
- flatter
- humble oneself
- humor
- implore
- kiss one's feet
- kneel
- kowtow
- make much of
- make up to
- pamper
- play up to
- prostrate
- revere
- snivel
- soft-soap
- stoop
- suck up to
- truckle
- wheedle
- yes
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019