1
as in wincing
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in shrinking
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringing
Verb
-
The staff member can be seen cowering down to fend off the attack and then turns and squares up to the irate passenger, who’s wearing a green colored top and army green pants.—
Michael Dorgan,
Fox News,
29 Nov. 2024 -
The trauma of war is ever-present in Honda's vision, which sees citizens fleeing for their lives and cowering in the rubble of their homes.—
Katie Rife,
EW.com,
18 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
But while the Internet is torn over whether Carpenter’s submissive position on the Man’s Best Friend cover is funny or degrading, Whoopi Goldberg was more concerned with something else.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
12 June 2025
-
By contrast, a beta is supposedly weak and submissive—a follower.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Just 14 yards on resigned run plays were, however, according to Pro Football Focus.—
Oliver Thomas,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
-
As new members have replaced the resigned ones, the board has ramped up focus on policies around LGBTQ+ students, dress codes and health curriculum.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
Where Chelsea’s domestic overseers have been largely acquiescent to their accounting ingenuity, the same can’t be said abroad.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Netanyahu appears convinced that his country’s security, along with his own political survival, depends on prolonging the military offensives and keeping both Gaza and Lebanon ungovernable, and therefore acquiescent.—
Mohanad Hage Ali,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Alston also gave the Court an opportunity to clarify the NCAA is not owed a deferential standard of review on antitrust claims.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Yet this week the president was notably deferential to his Israeli counterpart on questions about the future of Gaza.—
Ellen Mitchell,
The Hill,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
Here’s a look at Trump’s tariffs on the two countries and their exemptions: Canada’s central bank says 100% of energy exports and 95% of other exports are USMCA compliant.—
Rob Gillies,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
-
One of the best defenses against these sorts of attacks is the use of multi-factor authentication that’s compliant with FIDO, the industry standard developed by a consortium of organizations around the world.—
Jon Brodkin,
ArsTechnica,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
These prices tend to reflect the higher yielding asking price versus the lower yielding bid price.—
Barnet Sherman,
Forbes,
31 Dec. 2024
-
Net interest income for the quarter was $72.2 million, compared to $62.2 million in the previous year, driven by growth in higher yielding loans, primarily from CCBX.—
Quartz Bot,
Quartz,
8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative, where an individual tends to give up on their own needs and acquiesce to the desires of others by disengaging from the situation altogether.—
Ellen Choi,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
-
Accommodating, which is unassertive and cooperative, prioritizes the needs and preferences of others over one’s own in order to maintain harmony.—
Ellen Choi,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Cringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringing. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share