Behaving servilely is a way of showing excessive deference or subservience to someone else. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as fawning, cringing, groveling, kowtowing, and toadying. Fawning involves acting overly friendly or flattering in order to gain favor. Cringing is a physical gesture of submission, often accompanied by a feeling of shame or embarrassment. Groveling is a more extreme form of cringing, involving abject humility and begging for forgiveness. Kowtowing is an even more extreme form of groveling, involving kneeling and bowing one's head to the ground. Toadying is a less extreme form of fawning, involving obsequiousness and flattery in order to gain favor.