Meaning of cringe in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /krɪndʒ/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  1. Verb

    cringe

    Etymology

    Middle English crenge, crenche, related to Old Englishcringan, crincan ‘bend, yield, fall in battle’, of Germanic origin and related to Dutch krengen‘heel over’ and German krank‘sick’, also to crank

    Definitions

    1. draw back, as with fear or pain

    Examples

    • « she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. show submission or fear

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « Every genuine boy is a rebel and an anarch. If he were allowed to develop according to his own instincts, his own inclinations, society would undergo such a radical transformation as to make the adult revolutionary cower and cringe. »
    John Andrew Holmes
  • « Shall I tell you what the real evil is? To cringe to the things that are called evils, to surrender to them our freedom, in defiance of which we ought to face any suffering. »
    Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  • « I cringe at backstory. Because it never quite explains or gets into some psychological thing that is never quite right and never quite the truth and who knows why someone is some way. »
    Steve Martin
  • « The thing about romance and romantic movies is that they can be somewhat melodramatic. For a lot of actors, there's a certain cringe factor that's involved with that. »
    David Lyons
  • « I feel cheesy when I see 'Silver Spoons.' Some of it was funny, but some of it was just cheese! My kids love it, but I look at it and cringe. »
    Ricky Schroder

Browse dictionary