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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Grovel \Grov"el\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Groveled}or {Grovelled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Groveling} or {Grovelling}.] [From OE. grovelinge, grufelinge, adverb, on the face, prone, which was misunderstood as a p. pr.; cf. OE. gruf, groff, in the same sense; of Scand. origin, cf. Icel. gr[=u]fa, in [=a] gr[=u]fu on the face, prone, gr[=u]fa to grovel.]
1. To creep on the earth, or with the face to the ground; to lie prone, or move uneasily with the body prostrate on the earth; to lie flat on one's belly, expressive of abjectness; to crawl.
To creep and grovel on the ground. --Dryden.
2. To tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to be low, abject, or mean.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
groveling \grov"el*ing\, grovelling \grov"el*ling\, adjective Lying prone; low; debased; submissive in a self-abasing manner. ''A groveling creature.'' --Cowper.
Syn: cringing, wormlike, wormy. [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
groveling
adjective: totally submissive [syn: {cringing}, {grovelling}, {wormlike}, {wormy}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
63 Moby Thesaurus words for "groveling": abject, accumbent, apple-polishing, ass-kissing, backscratching, beggarly, bootlicking, brown-nosing, couchant, couche, cowering, crawling, cringing, crouching, decumbent, draped, fawnery, fawning, flat, flattering, flunkyism, footlicking, handshaking, hangdog, ingratiating, ingratiation, insinuation, kowtowing, lolling, lounging, lying, mealymouthed, mealymouthedness, obeisance, obeisant, obsequious, obsequiousness, on bended knee, parasitic, parasitism, procumbent, prone, prostrate, prostration, reclining, recumbent, reposing, resupine, sniveling, sponging, sprawled, sprawling, spread, supine, sycophancy, sycophantic, timeserving, toadeating, toadying, toadyish, toadyism, truckling, tufthunting
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