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Meaning of GROVEL

Pronunciation:  'gruvul

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: [v]  show submission or fear
 
 Websites: 
 
 Synonyms: cower, crawl, creep, cringe, fawn
 
 See Also: bend, flex

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
\Grov"el\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Groveled}or {Grovelled};
p. pr. & vb. n. {Groveling} or {Grovelling}.] [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. gr[=u]fa, in [=a] gr[=u]fu
on the face, prone, gr[=u]fa to grovel.]
1. 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.
         To creep and grovel on the ground.    --Dryden.
2. To tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to
   be low, abject, or mean.
 
Computing Dictionary
 
 Definition: 

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."

[Jargon File]

 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: 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
 

 

 

 

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