See Also: grovel(1)(dictionary)
grovel(2)(dictionary)
grovel(dictionary)

ungainful (iou) and grovel (oh)


ungainful (iou)



ungainful adjective. L16.
[from UN-1 + GAINFUL.]
Not gainful; (of Employment) unpaid, badly paid.
ungainfully adverb L16.

grovel (oh)



past tense and past participle groveled present participle groveling AmE
[Date: 1800-1900; Origin: groveling 'lying face downward' (16-19 centuries), from groof 'on the face' (14-19 centuries), from Old Norse grufu]
[I] to praise someone a lot or behave with a lot of respect towards them because you think that they are important and will be able to help you in some way - used to show disapproval
-synonym crawl crawl grovel to
::I had to really grovel to the bank manager to get a loan.
[I always + adverb/preposition] to move along the ground on your hands and knees
::I saw him grovelling in the road for his hat.
-- grovelling adj
::a grovelling apology