cringe

[krinj] verb, cringed, cring·ing, noun
verb (used without object)
1.
to shrink, bend, or crouch, especially in fear or servility; cower.
2.
to fawn.
noun
3.
servile or fawning deference.

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English crengen, crenchen (transitive); Old English *crencean, crencgean, causative of cringan, crincan to yield, fall (in battle)

cring·er, noun
cring·ing·ly, adverb
cring·ing·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To cringe
00:10
Cringe is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
Collins
World English Dictionary
cringe (krɪndʒ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to shrink or flinch, esp in fear or servility
2.  to behave in a servile or timid way
3.  informal
 a.  to wince in embarrassment or distaste
 b.  to experience a sudden feeling of embarrassment or distaste
 
n
4.  the act of cringing
5.  (Austral) the cultural cringe subservience to overseas cultural standards
 
[Old English cringan to yield in battle; related to Old Norse krangr weak, Middle High German krenken to weaken]
 
'cringer
 
n
 
'cringingly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cringe
early 13c., from causative of O.E. cringan "give way, fall (in battle), become bent," from P.Gmc. *krank- "bend, curl up."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Ordinarily such a lopsided comparison would make me cringe and conclude that it
  was aimed at the gullible.
Still, it was less the costume than the acting that made us cringe.
You've seen news footage of the devastation caused by major oil spills, and you
  cringe every time you change your oil.
To their credit, they may cringe a little at the truth but they come back for
  more of it.
Related Words
Synonym Game
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT