cringe
Americanverb (used without object)
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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.
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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
- cringer noun
- cringingly adverb
- cringingness noun
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)”
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.
Despite my penchant for outer space films and my affinity for Gosling’s work, the millennial cringe of it all left a bitter taste in my mouth.
From Salon
Asked again about the incident, he said: "Yes, it does make me cringe. It's embarrassing. I've apologised and I've repeatedly apologised."
From BBC
A long-standing critic said "it is better to cringe and do a U-turn than do the wrong thing".
From BBC
“Lurker” is one part cringe comedy, one part inquiry into the limits of online celebrity — an ideal recipe for Russell, a former writer and producer on “The Bear” and “Beef.”
From Los Angeles Times
I cringed a little as Callaway looked from one of us to the other and back again.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
