cringe
Americanverb (used without object)
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cringes,
present (3rd person singular)
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cringed,
past participle, past
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cringing
present participle
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to shrink back, bend, or crouch, especially in fear, pain, or servility; cower: They cringed and bowed before the king.
She cringed in a corner and started praying.
They cringed and bowed before the king.
-
to feel very embarrassed or awkward; react with discomfort.
Some of us cringed at the speaker’s tactless comments.
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to seek favor by acting in a servile way; fawn.
He has never cringed to anyone—in fact, he can sometimes be a bully.
noun
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an act or instance of shrinking back, bending, or crouching.
The gunshots elicited a cringe of terror.
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an instance of being very embarrassed, awkward, or uncomfortable.
Some of his outfits are bizarre enough to induce a cringe or two.
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servile or fawning deference.
adjective
verb
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to shrink or flinch, esp in fear or servility
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to behave in a servile or timid way
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informal
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to wince in embarrassment or distaste
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to experience a sudden feeling of embarrassment or distaste
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noun
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the act of cringing
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subservience to overseas cultural standards
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cringesimple
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cringessimple
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have cringedperfect
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has cringedperfect
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am cringingprogressive
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are cringingprogressive
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is cringingprogressive
-
have been cringingperfect progressive
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has been cringingperfect progressive
Past
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cringedsimple
-
had cringedperfect
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was cringingprogressive
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were cringingprogressive
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had been cringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cringe
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English crengen, crenchen (transitive); Old English crencean, crencgean (unattested), causative of cringan, crincan “to yield, fall (in battle)”
Explanation
When you cringe, your body language shows you don't like what you see and hear. You close your eyes and grimace. You may even jerk your body away from the offensive sight or sound, like the old picture of you in an "awkward stage" that makes you cringe whenever you see it. Whether it's a song you hate or someone mentioning an embarrassing moment from the past, you cringe at things that are unpleasant. If you think about the way your body involuntarily flinches or bends in those situations, you won’t be surprised to learn that the word cringe can be traced back to the Old English word cringan, meaning “give way, fall (in battle), become bent.” That’s exactly what your body does when you cringe!
Vocabulary lists containing cringe
The Lingo of Body Language
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Once in a while, maybe even daily, I’ll see some headline from a mainstream news organization that makes me cringe.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
A woman’s voice said, “That’s what comes with being Ben Simmons. He is cringe, cringe,” and another woman added that he is “lucky he’s so fine.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
The Canadian comedian, writer and producer Fielder is famous for harnessing the power of awkwardness, cringe and deadpan wit to great, if unsettling, comedic effect.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Looking back, it's so cringe because I just remember so clearly him sliding that piece of paper back to me and being like, ‘Fine.’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Her brain simmered with bursts of lilac, cigar smoke, sweat, the cringe of a missed opportunity, pangs of hunger.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
But on the eve of her 22nd birthday, Selines — who speaks in the same honeyed, dulcet tones she sings in — admits that she cringes at the sound of her own teen yearning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
He drives a Ford pickup truck and cringes at needing a security detail, according to a person who knows him well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Bellamy says he now often cringes looking back at the enraged footballer, banning his own team from throwing their arms up in disgust as he was so prone to do.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2025
Everyone I know in Seattle specifically cringes when they hear that and I understand that that is a very strange characteristic!
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
No one really cringes if I bump into them anymore, and people borrow my pencils without acting like the pencil has cooties.
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
Like almost every parent, I cringed whenever my child or another player headed the ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
As we showered afterward, I cringed when my hair came away in our hands.
From Slate ● May 23, 2026
The lead lawyer for Google "visibly cringed" when the specific share of ad revenue sent to Apple was revealed, according to Bloomberg.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2023
Sheehan and a few Meow Wolf companions cringed and laughed awkwardly, but they shouldn’t have felt surprised.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
I cringed, but it just shifted back and forth like a hen settling into a nest.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
"Every time I see it, I'm cringing, I'm in disbelief," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
“If you’re cringing about writing one performance review, imagine your manager who has to write 15 of them,” says executive coach Sabina Nawaz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
These lies are so dumb and easy to disprove that the onetime criminal defense attorney in me is cringing.
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2024
Even some liberal economists are cringing a bit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
“No. I don’t drink either,” I say, cringing.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
