cringe

verb \ ˈkrinj \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

Definition of cringe

cringed; cringing

intransitive verb

1 : to recoil in distaste

Americans cringed … at the use of a term now regarded as a slur
—William Safire

2 : to shrink in fear or servility

The terrified animal cringed in the corner.

3 : to behave in an excessively humble or servile way

beggars cringing to tourists for money

4 : to draw in or contract one's muscles involuntarily (as from cold or pain)

… we cringe under the blasting wind …
—Charles S. Houston

—

cringer

noun

See cringe defined for English-language learners

See cringe defined for kids

Examples of cringe in a Sentence

Many English teachers cringe when their students use the word “ain't.”
I always cringe when I hear that song.
Just the thought of eating broccoli makes me cringe.
The dog cringed at the noise.

Recent Examples of cringe from the Web

Most straight people cringed at the Snickers commercial.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid's homophobia controversy is back," 25 Apr. 2018
China threatened retaliation, and Wall Street cringed, recording one of the biggest drops of Trump's presidency.

— ken thomas and paul wiseman, Houston Chronicle, "Trump orders huge tariffs on China, raises trade war worries," 22 Mar. 2018
Like most parents, some of the students' mothers and fathers cringe - or worse - at how much their teens want to share about what's going on in their lives.

— jayne o'donnell, USA TODAY, "It's Teen Health Week. Why I care and why you should too," 19 Mar. 2018
We are supposed to cringe when Chuck and Axe collide and speak to each other like cocksure generals preparing for battle; their swagger and hyperbole are meant to be comical.

— rachel syme, The New Republic, ""Billions" reckons with the inflated egos and muddled ethics of Wall Street.," 24 Apr. 2018
The audience, similarly, is meant to cringe in pre-emptive horror when Renee applies for a receptionist job usually reserved for aspiring models.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "When Beauty Is a Troll," 22 Apr. 2018
Trump's decision to link his push for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to stopping the flow of opioids from Mexico made some in the treatment community cringe, worried that the focus will take away from other ways to respond to the crisis.

— dan merica, CNN, "Trump administration worries opioid crisis could 'get worse'," 14 Apr. 2018
Like her classmates before and after her, Daejah, 10, a fourth grader at Thea Bowman Leadership Academy in Gary, looked at the bag of hay and took a whiff of the feed pellets before cringing at the smell and passing it on.

— carrie napoleon, Post-Tribune, "Ag Day teaches Lake County's urban and suburban kids the importance of farming," 21 Mar. 2018
The idea of a summit meeting in Pyongyang makes some US officials cringe, envisioning how North Korean propagandists would depict it as Trump paying homage to Kim.

— choe sang-hun, BostonGlobe.com, "U.S. and North Korea in ‘detailed’ talks on Trump-Kim meeting, South says," 12 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cringe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cringe

Middle English crengen; akin to Old English cringan to yield, Middle High German krank weak

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

cringe Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of cringe

fawn, toady, truckle, cringe, cower mean to behave abjectly before a superior. fawn implies seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention.

- waiters fawning over a celebrity

toady suggests the attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude.

- toadying to his boss

truckle implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior.

- truckling to a powerful lobbyist

cringe suggests a bowing or shrinking in fear or servility.

- a cringing sycophant

cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people.

- cowering before a bully

cringe

noun

Definition of cringe

: a cringing act; specifically : a servile bow

Recent Examples of cringe from the Web

The internet is getting nostalgic this week, with celebrities and everyday citizens alike posting their cute, comical and cringe-worthy old photos under the hashtag #OldHeadshotDay.

— jamie ducharme, Time, "Everyone's Posting Adorable, Awkward and Adorably Awkward Old Photos of Themselves for #OldHeadshotDay," 28 Apr. 2018
The distorted ankle was plain to see, and the view became more cringe-worthy as cameras captured Finau reaching down with his left hand and popping the ankle back into place.

— bill pennington, New York Times, "Tony Finau Steals Masters Spotlight After Dislocating Ankle," 5 Apr. 2018
Apu owns a Kwik-E-Mart and speaks in a stereotypical Indian accent while doing stereotypically cringe-worthy things.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "D'Oh! Hank Azaria Did What The Simpsons Could Not," 25 Apr. 2018
Of course, Badu put her own spin on the cringe-worthy sneaker.

— liana satenstein, Vogue, "This Is How Erykah Badu Pulls Off the Ugliest Shoe of the Season," 23 Apr. 2018
Surrounded by cringe-worthy written jokes on a page the magazine’s July 2 issue, the two-frame illustration stands out.

— raisa bruner, Time, "This Popular Viral Meme Has Actually Been Around for Nearly a Century," 16 Apr. 2018
Discovering that your body is infested with worms is cringe-worthy enough.

— blake bakkila, Health.com, "This Woman Pulled 14 Tiny Worms Out of Her Eye," 13 Feb. 2018
For nonactors, preening in front of a camera with directors calling out emotions to convey merely with facial expressions and gestures can be cringe inducing.

— katherine rosman, New York Times, "15 Minutes of Fame Is Too Much. Try 6 Seconds.," 12 Feb. 2018
In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, researchers used mathematical formulas to support the idea that the collapse of bubbles in the joints generates the cringe-inducing popping sound.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "What Causes the Cringe-Inducing Sound of Knuckle Cracking?," 13 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of cringe

see ¹cringe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1597

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

CRINGE Defined for English Language Learners

cringe

verb

Definition of cringe for English Language Learners

: to feel disgust or embarrassment and often to show this feeling by a movement of your face or body
: to make a sudden movement from fear of being hit or hurt