as in shrinking
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1
as in wincing
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe
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Recent Examples of cringing
Andee Tagle, NPR, 25 May 2026
Try and get through this one without cringing.
—Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026
Dermatologists are literally cringing about it.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2026
The movie’s real sympathetic figure is Hall, played by Dacre Montgomery, who spends most of the movie cringing and flinching, while trying not to move.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
In it, her fellow students can be seen gasping, covering their faces and cringing.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
Encouraged to see Jones sorta respond, Mackie kept babbling on and on and on about his dad, unaware that everyone else in the room was cringing.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
But the aftermath of the videos left many Democrats cringing, Republican candidates pouncing, and political observers wondering how voters would respond.
—Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2025
The cringing mortifications and unsettling unreality make the series a tough sit.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
More comics journalism from Life Kit Still cringing about that awkward moment?
—Andee Tagle, NPR, 25 May 2026
Try and get through this one without cringing.
—Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026
Dermatologists are literally cringing about it.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2026
The movie’s real sympathetic figure is Hall, played by Dacre Montgomery, who spends most of the movie cringing and flinching, while trying not to move.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
In it, her fellow students can be seen gasping, covering their faces and cringing.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
Encouraged to see Jones sorta respond, Mackie kept babbling on and on and on about his dad, unaware that everyone else in the room was cringing.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
But the aftermath of the videos left many Democrats cringing, Republican candidates pouncing, and political observers wondering how voters would respond.
—Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2025
The cringing mortifications and unsettling unreality make the series a tough sit.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringing
Adjective
-
Re-wash and dry the garment, using these tips to avoid re-shrinking, to prevent a residue from the conditioner from setting.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Blame two Democrats, Harry Truman and Bill Clinton—and save room for the incredible shrinking Congress.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 June 2025
Verb
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Otherwise, Makar will be wincing through pain trying to explain the unfathomable, Blackwood will be dropping F-bombs in disbelief and MacKinnon will be ducking reporters despite being the team’s best player.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
-
At times, she’s been shown wincing on the bench.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
The Alpha Wave acquisition suggests the Gulf’s biggest dealmakers aren’t flinching at opportunities in the US or being slowed by the war in Iran.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Many critics are now calling out CBS for flinching rather than forcefully standing up to politically motivated intimidation.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Harry Melling stars as a young introvert who meets an older biker (Alexander Skarsgård) and becomes his submissive.—
Emily Temple,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
-
The original plot centered on the arrival of a submissive, quiet mail-order bride and her father from China, who sneaked into the country to marry a nightclub owner who had no idea that his mother had brought the girl over for him.—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Daily News,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Now, at least some signs are emerging that both the broader public and leading liberal voices may be recoiling from the doom and gloom.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
-
Did that also include Jess endearing himself to Rory before recoiling and ghosting?—
Justin Kirkland,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
With several strippers, patrons and employees cowering in fear, the two men talk.—
Selome Hailu,
Variety,
1 June 2026
-
The Wolves will retreat to their corner, bandage some wounds and aim to actually come out swinging Friday after cowering in the corner for the bulk of Game 2.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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The album’s 20 songs are the resigned and rueful sound of him making amends with his obscurity, and his larger place in the universe.—
Jayson Greene,
Pitchfork,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That amendment had been made a dead letter by Jim Crow state legislatures and an acquiescent Supreme Court.—
Robert D. Bland,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2026
-
With This is Gavin Newsom, the California governor is obviously working to position himself as some sort of aisle-bridging but Trump-antagonizing candidate, an acquiescent project that involves booking Steve Bannon one week and Ezra Klein the next.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringing. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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