From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgenuflectgen‧u‧flect /ˈdʒenjəflekt/ verb [intransitive] formal 1 RRCto bend one or both knees when in church or a holy place as a sign of respect2 to show too much respect towards someone or something – used to show disapproval SYN kowtowgenuflect to He was a man of principle, refusing to genuflect to the party leadership. —genuflection /ˌdʒenjəˈflekʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
genuflect• If anything, they are the ones genuflecting.• He raised the Host, then genuflected before it.• I genuflected before the winking sanctuary lamp and concealed myself in one of the side chapels.• Finally, he stood at one end and genuflected, glancing along the line of posts to see that it was straight.• But it was more like genuflecting in her presence.• He genuflected, slipped into a pew in the middle of the nave and knelt to pray.• The second consequence is that ambitious left-of-centre politicians no longer need to genuflect to the far left to advance their career.• At the same time, the report may genuflect toward ensuring fairness.Origin genuflect (1800-1900) Late Latin genuflectere, from Latin genu “knee” + flectere “to bend” 