genuflect
/ˈd͡ʒɛn.jʊ.flɛkt/verb
genuflect is spelled G-E-N-U-F-L-E-C-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, genuflect means “To briefly enter a position that touches one knee to the ground in a manner that is typically associated with formal homage or religious worship” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in genuflect?
| Letters | 9: G-E-N-U-F-L-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 133,440th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is genuflect?
Genuflect appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce genuflect?
- US /ˈd͡ʒɛn.jʊ.flɛkt/
Genuflect has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-genuflect.ogg, En-au-genuflect.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of genuflect
- genuflects present, singular, he/she/it
- genuflecting participle, present
- genuflected participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does genuflect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
archaicTo bend the knee, as in servitude.
- 2
To briefly enter a position that touches one knee to the ground in a manner that is typically associated with formal homage or religious worship.
- 3
To behave in a servile manner; to grovel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Genuflect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to bend the knee, as in servitude, homage, or worship:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | faire une génuflexion, génuflexer, génuflexionner |
| German | niederknien |
| Portuguese | genuflectir |
| Spanish | doblar la rodilla, arrodillarse, genuflexionar, prostrarse, postrarse, ponerse genuflexo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does genuflect come from?
From around 1620–1630 from Medieval Latin genūflectō (“to bend the knee”) equivalent to the Latin genū (“knee”) + flectō (“to bend”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).