cringe

Meaning

Verb

1. To cower, flinch, recoil, shrink, or tense, as in disgust, embarrassment, or fear.
2. To experience an inward feeling of disgust, embarrassment, or fear; (by extension) to feel very embarrassed.
3. To bow or crouch in servility.
4. To act in an obsequious or servile manner.
5. (obsolete) To draw (a body part) close to the body; also, to distort or wrinkle (the face, etc.).
6. (obsolete) To bow or crouch to (someone) in servility; to escort (someone) in a cringing manner.

Noun

1. A gesture or posture of cringing (recoiling or shrinking).
2. An act or disposition of servile obeisance.
3. A crick (“painful muscular cramp or spasm of some part of the body”).
4. (slang) Things, particularly online content, which would cause an onlooker to cringe from secondhand embarrassment.

Adj

Synonym of cringeworthy or uncool, inducing awkwardness or secondhand embarrassment.

Intj

Stated in response to something cringeworthy.

Synonyms

cower

shrink

fawn

flinch

recoil

creep

grovel

wince

crouch

crawl

shrink back

quail

sink

funk

squinch

toady

truckle

fall

perish

shudder

flatter

knit

kotow

kowtow

lackey

make up

pucker

pull away

pull back

pull out

recede

retire

retract

retreat

retrograde

ruck

rumple

shrivel

sneak

soft soap

squat

suck up

tremble

wimple

withdraw

wrinkle

yield

backpedal

crimple

fawn upon

humble oneself

move back

shrink from

adulate

bow low

back down

beg

bend down

blandish

blarney

bootlick

cajole

cluster

cockle

contract

cramped

crinkle

crumple

cuddle

curl

curry

🍛

duck

🦆

ebb away

excuse

fiddle

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kɹɪnd͡ʒ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: crengen

Inherited from Old English: *crenċan

Cognate with Danish: krænge

Cognate with Dutch: krengen

Cognate with Scots: crenge

Cognate with Swedish: kränga

Cognate with Western Frisian: kringe

In summary

The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English *crenċan, *crenċġan, *crenġan (“to cause to fall or turn”), the causative of crinċġan (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”), from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- (“to turn”)) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (“to turn inside out, evert”), Dutch krengen (“to careen, veer”), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (“to cringe; to shrug”), Swedish kränga (“to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss”), and West Frisian kringe (“to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge”); and is a doublet of crinkle.
The noun and adjective are derived from the verb via zero derivation.