genuflection

American  

[jen-yoo-flek-shuhn] / ˌdʒɛn yʊˈflɛk ʃən /

especially British, genuflexion

noun

1. an act of bending the knee or touching it to the ground in reverence or worship.

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Etymology

Origin of genuflection

First recorded in 1520–30, genuflection is from the Medieval Latin word genūflexiōn- (stem of genūflexiō ). See genuflect, -ion

Example Sentences

He saw the tribal genuflection as “an empty, performative act” that implied “UW’s presence is somehow illegitimate, shameful, morally wrong.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

At earlier hearings, university presidents opted for strategies of conciliatory genuflection or drab, lawyerly answers.

From New York Times • May 9, 2024

Pay close attention to appreciate the artful genuflection to classics like “Excalibur.”

From Salon • May 21, 2021

The Times’ special NFL Preview special section was marked by its metaphorical genuflection at wealth’s excesses reminiscent perhaps only of Ancient Rome.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2020

Then he invites me to his daughter's wedding; he prays, makes a genuflection, and says: "I still preserve religious feeling; I am a believer."

From Note-Book of Anton Chekhov by Woolf, Leonard