genuflect
/ˈdʒɛnjəflɛkt/
verb
- To bend one knee to the ground, especially as a sign of respect or worship in a religious context.
- She learned to genuflect properly during her first visit to the cathedral.
- In many churches, worshippers genuflect before entering the pew.
- The knight would genuflect before the king as a gesture of loyalty.
- To show excessive deference or submission to someone or something.
- The media often seems to genuflect before celebrities.
- Critics accused the politician of genuflecting to corporate interests.
- He refused to genuflect to popular opinion and stuck to his principles.