genuflect
to bend the knee or touch one knee to the floor in reverence or worship.
to express a servile attitude.
Origin of genuflect
1Other words from genuflect
- gen·u·flec·tor, noun
Words Nearby genuflect
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use genuflect in a sentence
But the essential instinct to genuflect to the ultra-rich is intact.
Michael Tomasky: Weak Man Romney Running for President | Michael Tomasky | January 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTYet when it is one of the anointed ratings agencies, there is this sudden need to genuflect.
Their mask of brain rot allows them to genuflect in the face of ignorance.
If it is a Roman Catholic wedding they genuflect as they reach the chancel.
The Complete Bachelor | Walter Germain"It's customary to genuflect when you enter the Viceroy's presence," said the standing one at last.
Upstarts | L. J. Stecher
It was well for the people to know when to kneel, when to bow the head, and when to genuflect.
Robert Annys: Poor Priest | Annie Nathan MeyerShould we not, when we enter the church, genuflect, bend the knee in His honor?
Mary, Help of Christians | VariousIt hurt Sophia just to watch her struggle to genuflect before the cardinal.
The Saracen: The Holy War | Robert Shea
British Dictionary definitions for genuflect
/ (ˈdʒɛnjʊˌflɛkt) /
to act in a servile or deferential manner
RC Church to bend one or both knees as a sign of reverence, esp when passing before the Blessed Sacrament
Origin of genuflect
1Derived forms of genuflect
- genuflection or esp British genuflexion, noun
- genuflector, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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