genuflection

American  

[jen-yoo-flek-shuhn] / ˌdʒɛn yʊˈflɛk ʃən /

especially British, genuflexion

noun

1. an act of bending the knee or touching it to the ground in reverence or worship.

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Etymology

Origin of genuflection

First recorded in 1520–30, genuflection is from the Medieval Latin word genūflexiōn- (stem of genūflexiō ). See genuflect, -ion

Example Sentences

He saw the tribal genuflection as “an empty, performative act” that implied “UW’s presence is somehow illegitimate, shameful, morally wrong.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

Much as there is for its fans to mourn about the alleged closure of the “Downton Abbey” franchise, I won’t miss the increasingly tone-deaf genuflection before the glamour of British privilege.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025

At earlier hearings, university presidents opted for strategies of conciliatory genuflection or drab, lawyerly answers.

From New York Times • May 9, 2024

The Times’ special NFL Preview special section was marked by its metaphorical genuflection at wealth’s excesses reminiscent perhaps only of Ancient Rome.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2020

When the Pope is about to make the first genuflection, the choir begins to sing the improperii, the sentiments of which, and the chant composed by Palestrina 92, are admirably adapted to the pathetic ceremony.

From The Ceremonies of the Holy-Week at Rome by Baggs, Charles Michael