groveling
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Grovel \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 flat on one's belly, expressive of
abjectness; to crawl.
[1913 Webster]
To creep and grovel on the ground. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. To tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to
be low, abject, or mean.
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
63 Moby Thesaurus words for "groveling":
abject, accumbent, apple-polishing, ass-kissing, backscratching,
beggarly, bootlicking, brown-nosing, couchant, couche, cowering,
crawling, cringing, crouching, decumbent, draped, fawnery, fawning,
flat, flattering, flunkyism, footlicking, handshaking, hangdog,
ingratiating, ingratiation, insinuation, kowtowing, lolling,
lounging, lying, mealymouthed, mealymouthedness, obeisance,
obeisant, obsequious, obsequiousness, on bended knee, parasitic,
parasitism, procumbent, prone, prostrate, prostration, reclining,
recumbent, reposing, resupine, sniveling, sponging, sprawled,
sprawling, spread, supine, sycophancy, sycophantic, timeserving,
toadeating, toadying, toadyish, toadyism, truckling, tufthunting
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