grovel
verb (used without object)
to humble oneself or act in an abject manner, as in great fear or utter servility.
was groveling
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past progressiveof grovel.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That country was groveling under the heel of one of the most hideous systems that the baseness of man ever conceived.
From Thomas Jefferson, a Character Sketch by Edward Sylvester Ellis
Little John, who had gradually left off squaring, looked hard at his aunt, Miss Eringobragh, Mr. Bull's sister, who was groveling on the ground, with her head in the ashes.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 8, January, 1851 by Various
And since I'd hardly had a bite to eat that day, I was groveling in hunger—and hunger and sleep don't exactly make good bedfellows.
From The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes; his fortunes and misfortunes as told by himself by Robert S. Rudder
There was a direful unanimity of opinion that she was groveling in her priceless wedding-gown on the floor of some dark, filthy cellar.
From Castle Craneycrow by George Barr McCutcheon
