cringe
verb (used without object)
to shrink back, bend, or crouch, especially in fear, pain, or servility; cower: They cringed and bowed before the king.
cringed
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past participleof cringe.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof cringe.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
cringeverb (used without object)to shrink back, bend, or crouch, especially in fear, pain, or servility; cower: They cringed and bowed before the king.
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.
Like almost every parent, I cringed whenever my child or another player headed the ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Meanwhile, his city only cringed and thought, yeah, we’ve seen these sorts of great bursts from him before, but he wears down without help.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2024
“Daddy’s home,” someone said, and a nation cringed.
From Slate ● Nov. 16, 2023
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
I cringed and rolled around on the floor by my bed or sometimes on the verandah.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
