Cringe Definition

krĭnj

cringed, cringes, cringing

verb

cringed, cringes, cringing

To draw back, bend, crouch, etc., as when afraid; shrink from something dangerous or painful.

Webster's New World

To act in a timid, servile manner; fawn.

Webster's New World

(dated, intransitive) To bow or crouch in servility.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

noun

cringes

The act of cringing.

Webster's New World

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

Wiktionary

(dialect) A crick.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Cringe

Singular:

cringe

Plural:

From Middle English *crinchen, crenchen, crengen, from Old English cringan, crincan (“to yield, cringe; fall; perish, die”), from Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to twist, wind”). Cognate with Scots crenge, creinge, creenge, crienge (“to cringe, shrug”). Related to crinkle.

From Wiktionary
Middle English crengen to bend haughtily probably ultimately from Old English cringan to give way

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition