cringe

American  

[krinj] / krɪndʒ /

verb (used without object)

• cringes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cringed,
  past participle,  past
• cringing
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to feel very embarrassed or awkward; react with discomfort.

   Some of us cringed at the speaker’s tactless comments.

3. 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

1. an act or instance of shrinking back, bending, or crouching.

   The gunshots elicited a cringe of terror.

2. an instance of being very embarrassed, awkward, or uncomfortable.

   Some of his outfits are bizarre enough to induce a cringe or two.

3. servile or fawning deference.

adjective

1. Slang. causing embarrassment or resulting in awkward discomfort; cringeworthy; cringey.

   Her attempt to rap at the talent show was so very cringe.

cringe British  

/ krɪndʒ /

verb

1. to shrink or flinch, esp in fear or servility

2. to behave in a servile or timid way

3. informal

   1. to wince in embarrassment or distaste

   2. to experience a sudden feeling of embarrassment or distaste

---

noun

1. the act of cringing

2. subservience to overseas cultural standards

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cringer
  noun
• cringingness
  noun
• cringingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• cringing
  present
• cringed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cringe
  simple
• cringes
  simple
• have cringed
  perfect
• has cringed
  perfect
• am cringing
  progressive
• are cringing
  progressive
• is cringing
  progressive
• have been cringing
  perfect progressive
• has been cringing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cringed
  simple
• had cringed
  perfect
• was cringing
  progressive
• were cringing
  progressive
• had been cringing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cringe
  simple
• will have cringed
  perfect
• will be cringing
  progressive
• will have been cringing
  perfect progressive

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cringe cringes cringed cringing

Today, folks on social media debate the merits of including off-duty pursuits, with opponents calling it cringe, irrelevant or amateurish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

But many comments and shares called the video "cringe".

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The results of a recent survey from wealth-management platform Betterment are making America’s financial advisers cringe.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

He tried to get rid of something that still makes me cringe: Conan’s nipple dance.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

The Staff Car made the kids cringe from embarrassment.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

"That was me in high school," she cringes.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 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

With art at the moment, it’s so specific that sometimes it cringes me out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025

I'm a loving person who cringes at everything associated with February 14, a fan of democracy who wants to hide every time July 4 rolls around and a very grateful individual who actively dislikes Thanksgiving.

From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2023

My socks squelch with each step in my new boots, earning a string of cringes.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Like almost every parent, I cringed whenever my child or another player headed the ball.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

“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

And I just cringed, because Jill and I, neither one of us would care if people took pictures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023

Behind her, Neville put a hand over his eyes and cringed.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

“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

Sherry plays A.J. with cringing self-loathing, inherited and desperate to be cast off.

From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2024

Even some liberal economists are cringing a bit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023

The chaplain’s composure began trickling back as he studied the queer, cringing figure intently.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• cower
• kneel
• quiver
• tremble
• wince