grovelling

4 definitions found

grovelling - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  groveling \grov"el*ing\, grovelling \grov"el*ling\, a.
     Lying prone; low; debased; submissive in a self-abasing
     manner. "A groveling creature." --Cowper.
  
     Syn: cringing, wormlike, wormy.
          [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]

  Grovel \Grov"el\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Groveledor 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]

grovelling - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  grovelling
      adj 1: totally submissive [syn: cringing, groveling,
             grovelling, wormlike, wormy]

grovelling - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  22 Moby Thesaurus words for "grovelling":
     abject, apple-polishing, ass-kissing, base, brown-nosing, cowering,
     crawling, cringing, fawning, kowtowing, low, mean, obsequious,
     scraping, servile, slavish, sordid, submissive, subservient,
     sycophantish, toadying, truckling