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cringe

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of cringe

1 to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust

  • gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe
Synonyms of cringe

blench, flinch, quail, recoil, shrink, squinch, wince
Words Related to cringe

blanch, pale, whiten

quake, quiver, shake, shudder, tremble

crouch

jerk, start, twitch

recede, retire, retreat, withdraw

falter, hesitate, reel, waver
Near Antonyms of cringe

advance, approach, near

beard, challenge, confront, defy, face

2 to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission

  • the puppy cringed when his master raised the rolled-up newspaper
Synonyms of cringe

cower, grovel, quail
Words Related to cringe

flinch, recoil, shrink, squinch

blanch, blench, whiten

fawn, kowtow, toady

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

Learn More about cringe

  1. See words that rhyme with cringe Dictionary: Definition of cringe Spanish Central: Translation of cringe Nglish: Translation of cringe for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of cringe for Arabic speakers

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