They genuflected before the altar in the church.

Recent Examples on the Web

They're used to everybody genuflecting in their presence. Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, "Tested: 1991 GMC Syclone vs. Ferrari 348ts," 29 May 2020

This wasn't a mere victory lap — although John relished the opportunity to stand up from his piano and genuflect gleefully after practically every song. Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Elton John outshines his legend at sensational final Milwaukee concert at Fiserv Forum," 20 Oct. 2019

How many more times will this nation go through this before mostly Republican members of Congress and President Donald Trump stop genuflecting to the National Rifle Association? Daniel Borenstein, The Mercury News, "Editorial: Trump’s post-Gilroy condolences lack any credibility," 30 July 2019

These days, anyone who still genuflects at the altar of cinema amid our putative streaming-service renaissance runs the risk of being labeled hopelessly retrograde. Los Angeles Times, "Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,’ the haunting work of a filmmaker running out of time," 26 July 2019

So far every major Democrat who has declared for the presidency—Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard—has felt obliged at least to genuflect in the direction of Cardinal Bernie. ... Daniel Henninger, WSJ, "The Democrats’ Socialist Gene," 20 Feb. 2019

Tillery fancies himself a kingmaker and promises a get-out-the-vote effort to genuflecting politicos. Jason Williams, Cincinnati.com, "PX column: Why we should be concerned about former Cincinnati Mayor Dwight Tillery's text messages to City Council," 12 June 2019

Potomac Watch Podcast The goal is to identify donors who don’t genuflect to progressive views, then bully or harass them to stop giving. The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Majority Preservation Act," 7 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'genuflect.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.