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
Verb
-
At times, she’s been shown wincing on the bench.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Turning up the music in get car so that her daughter won’t hear, the grandmother gets out the car, takes a revolver out of her bag, and wincing and turning away, shoots the animal in the head.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Knorr and other team officials were in the room, but Stammen helped lead it without flinching.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
This is typical of Hacks, a series that constantly positions itself to do something emotionally dangerous before recoiling toward a safer version of it.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
-
Coinbase’s effort, filled with little nuances and created to emulate the experience of a videogame, might have people welcoming another look rather than recoiling at seeing the spot for the 15th time in a period of just a few days.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2026
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
-
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
-
Participants will gain skills to develop mutual trust, respect, and mindfulness between Dominant and submissive.—
Rachel del Guidice,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
The general reaction from my colleagues seemed to be a resigned sense that chaos is the new norm.—
Paul Knoepfler,
STAT,
21 May 2026
-
Liz Alvarado skillfully broadens this figure from a resigned, knowing older woman committed to marrying for security, to believably revealing dormant feelings within her that tamped down her first-and-only true enamorado Diego.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
12 May 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,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Trump is the most corrupt and scandal-plagued president since Nixon; indeed, his fiascoes eclipse Nixon’s, but many of them remain mostly or somewhat hidden, thanks in part to a much more acquiescent Republican Congress than the one Nixon had.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringing. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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