cringe

1 draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf" [syn: flinch, squinch, funk, shrink, wince, recoil, quail]

2 show submission or fear [syn: fawn, crawl, creep, cower, grovel]

English

Etymology

Via Middle English from Old English cringan

Noun

1. A posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling.

   He glanced with a cringe at the mess on his desk.

Translations

• Finnish: säpsähdys, vavahdus

Verb

1. To shrink or recoil, as in fear, disgust or embarrassment.

   He cringed as the bird collided with the window.''

Derived terms

• cringeworthy

Translations

• Finnish: säpsähtää, kavahtaa
• Spamish: encoger(se)

See also

• crouch
• wince

apple-polish, avoid, bend, bend the knee, bend the neck, bend to, blench, blink, bootlick, bow, bow and scrape, bow down, bow to, brown-nose, cower, crawl, creep, cringe to, croodle, crouch, crouch before, curtsy, defer, do homage, do obeisance, dodge, draw back, draw in, duck, eat dirt, evade, fade, fall back, fawn, flatter, flinch, funk, genuflect, get down, grovel, hang back, hunch, hunch down, jib, kneel, kneel to, knuckle to, kowtow, lick the dust, lickspittle, pull back, pull in, pull out, quail, quiver, recoil, reel back, retract, retreat, scrouch down, sheer off, shrink, shrink back, shy, sidestep, skulk, slaver, slink, sneak, squat, start aside, start back, stoop, swerve, toadeat, toady, tremble, truckle, truckle to, turn aside, wallow, weasel, weasel out, welter, wince, withdraw