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to kneel

to kneel

149 1.4
To be with your knees on the ground
  • verb
  • /nɪl/
translation icon : arrodillarse
  • I kneel before you not as a prince, but as a man in love.
  • kneel in prayer
  • kneel to kiss
  • a kneeling man

And then Aaron gets up and kneels down formally on both knees.

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Examples

  • Before entering the church, many people kneel to pray quietly.

  • As they did so, he ordered each one to kneel on the ground in rows, close together.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Allow me to kneel down and get it for you.

  • Final challenge, kneel and get back up.

  • Finally, we had our turn to enter the church and kneel before the icon.

    Academic text (2000)
  • For the second verse, the crowd was asked to "kneel before God" while singing it, and many did.

    Academic text (1997)
  • No man fears to kneel before the god he trusts.

  • And she asked me to come back and I went and knelt by the bed.

  • Visitors who came to kneel and pray would have approached the epitaph from the right.

    Academic text (1993)
  • I looked over and she had knelt down and was picking a bouquet of wildflowers.

Synonyms

to get down
vsto kneel
102 1.8

To crouch or kneel down to a lower position

is specifically done by placing weight on knees to show respect
to bow down
vsto kneel
30 3.7

Lower your head or body to show respect, often as a sign that you obey someone

involves lowering onto knees specifically rather than only bending forward
to genuflect
vsto kneel
  • Formal
5 9.9

To kneel on one or both knees to show respect, often in a church

is the general act of resting the body on knees in many settings
to bend the knee
vsto kneel
1 8.4

To show loyalty and obey a powerful person

is a physical resting on knees to show respect rather than symbolic only
to bow respectfully
vsto kneel
1 3.9

Bend your upper body forward from the waist to show respect

involves placing body weight on knees rather than leaning from the waist
to tebow
vsto kneel
  • Informal
9.9

To kneel on one knee in prayer or to show thanks

is done by resting on both knees or in varied respectful positions

Antonyms

1.0

To be or put something in an upright position

How Respectful

to prostrate
6 8.1
to genuflect
  • Formal
5 9.9
to kneel
149 1.4
to bow
132 1.7

Surface Forms

kneel infinitive
kneeling present participle
kneels third person singular
knelt past
knelt past participle

Morphology

kneel = knee (transparent) = knee + el

Form and meaning are clearly derived from 'knee' + a verb-forming ending, so learners can infer 'to go to one's knees'.

Etymology

Kneel comes from an old word for the body part knee. So to kneel is literally to 'go down on your knees', which is why people kneel to show respect, pray, or show submission.