1
as in winces
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe
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Recent Examples of cringes
Payton cringes at the mention of a sophomore slump, that defenses will figure out Nix.
—
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringes
Verb
-
Bryan winces after weighing in at 597 lbs.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
-
When the crowd begins hooting in response, Nanjiani winces.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
3 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Sheinbaum quickly moves away and visibly flinches as the man attempts to put his arm around her.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Snakes must move incredibly quickly to sink their fangs into prey before the victim flinches.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But the Oscar-winning filmmaker recoils at being called a visionary.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Some former students, including Mamdani, who signed up for Kagan’s 12th-grade AP World History class, have referred to themselves as Kaganites, a term Kagan literally recoils from.—
The Editors,
Curbed,
15 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
If Venezuela and its region instead spiral into chaos and suffering, Trump will merely look like a bully, a president who cowers when facing the mighty — in Moscow or Beijing, say — but bombs those who can’t return fire, whether in Nigeria, Yemen or Venezuela.—
Andreas Kluth,
Boston Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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The Guthrie family cowers in obedient fear of its brooding patriarch (Peter Mullan).—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cringes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringes. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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