What does grovellingly mean?
Grovellingly means in an excessively humble, fawning, or undignified manner. It is the adverb formed from the adjective grovelling and is especially used when someone appears to be trying to placate another person by showing exaggerated submission, gratitude, or apology. The word often carries a critical or ironic edge: describing someone as grovellingly grateful, for example, can suggest that the gratitude is excessive or strategically performed rather than sincere. It is useful because it identifies not merely a humble action but a manner that has become conspicuous and perhaps debasing. The term is relatively uncommon and literary in tone. In British English it is normally spelled grovellingly, with two l's, while the usual American form is grovelingly, with one l.
adverbIn a grovelling manner; with excessive humility, submissiveness, or desire to please. It often conveys that the behaviour is fawning or undignified.
- In a fawning, excessively humble, or undignified manner.
"The apologetic employee spoke grovellingly, thanking the manager for every minor concession."
"He grovellingly accepted the criticism even though it was plainly unfair."
"The witness spoke grovellingly to the judge, begging for mercy."
Grovellingly captures the moment when humility becomes so exaggerated that it looks like an performance of total surrender.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does grovellingly come from?
Grovellingly is formed from grovelling, which derives from the verb grovel. The verb is generally traced to Old English, where its core sense referred to lying prone or crawling; over time, it developed the figurative sense of behaving with abject humility or submission. The related forms groveller and grovelled belong to the same lexical family, and the doubled-l British spelling reflects the form of grovelling.
Related word forms
How grovellingly is actually used
The word is somewhat literary and usually carries a negative or ironic connotation, suggesting excessive or insincere submission. British spelling uses two l's: grovellingly; American spelling is commonly grovelingly.
Easily confused with grovellingly
Grovelling is an adjective describing a person or manner, whereas grovellingly is an adverb describing the way someone acts.
Grovellingly is the British spelling with two l's, while grovelingly is the usual American spelling with one l.