cringe

1 of 3

verb

cringed; cringing

intransitive verb

1
: to recoil in distaste
Americans cringed … at the use of a term now regarded as a slurWilliam Safire
2
: to shrink in fear or servility
The terrified animal cringed in the corner.
3
: to behave in an excessively humble or servile way
beggars cringing to tourists for money
4
: to draw in or contract one's muscles involuntarily (as from cold or pain)
… we cringe under the blasting wind …Charles S. Houston
cringer noun

cringe

2 of 3

noun

: a cringing act
specifically : a servile bow

cringe

3 of 3

adjective

slang
: so embarrassing, awkward, etc. as to cause one to cringe : cringeworthy
a cringe moment
cringe comedy [=comedy involving jokes that make people uncomfortable]
It's hard to find a movie from the early 2000s that isn't a little cringe.theringer.com
Choose the Right Synonym for cringe

fawn, toady, truckle, cringe, cower mean to behave abjectly before a superior.

fawn implies seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention.

waiters fawning over a celebrity

toady suggests the attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude.

toadying to his boss

truckle implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior.

truckling to a powerful lobbyist

cringe suggests a bowing or shrinking in fear or servility.

a cringing sycophant

cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people.

cowering before a bully

Examples of cringe in a Sentence

Verb Many English teachers cringe when their students use the word “ain't.” I always cringe when I hear that song. Just the thought of eating broccoli makes me cringe. The dog cringed at the noise.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
No doubt some vegetarians would cringe at the thought, as would some dedicated carnivores. Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024 Kelly Osbourne is still cringing over her infamous comments about Latinos and Donald Trump. USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024 And while some of us may still cringe at the thought of having worn Von Dutch caps and Ed Hardy shirts, the history of the bootcut extends well beyond that time frame. Ashley W. Simpson, Robb Report, 8 Feb. 2024 As the show opened with Koy outright yelling at the audience that somehow still included the biggest names in Hollywood, the celebrities in the Beverly Hilton ballroom appeared to cringe as one, with muted applause and mere whispers of laughter. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2024 It is well documented that team building improves employee engagement and morale, but many of us cringe when our companies announce a team escape room or virtual Jeopardy. Leila Saad, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 Yet what is cringe but the beginning of self-knowledge? Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 While traditionalists cringe at trendy yoga variations that have swept the U.S., Morrison said poga is in keeping with the timeless traditions of the discipline. Roland Wilkerson, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024 And craven reviewers go along with the deceit, pretending that the assemblage of broad performances and mash-up of Britney–Taylor Smith–Olivia Rodrigo musical videos by directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. is not cringe but fresh and expert. Armond White, National Review, 17 Jan. 2024
Noun
Opposite cringe master himself, Nathan Fielder, Stone is doing some of her best work yet and her fellow actors are likely to take notice. Hunter Ingram, Variety, 15 Dec. 2023 Then, there’s Timmy Tim, the cringe rapper, whose bars eventually made it to Saturday night’s equally cringe stage, SNL. Vulture, 8 Dec. 2023 The cringe cartoon comedy from Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head) and Greg Daniels (King of the Hill) aims at laughter from uncomfortable interviews with live guests like Hugh Laurie, Tegan and Sara, Mike Tyson and Jonathan Van Ness. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Jan. 2024 Since the late 2000s, the naked ambition that characterized her early work has persisted in ways that accentuate certain elements of cringe: compulsive dabbling in rap and EDM which could, at best, be read as camp, usually reviewed with a sense of grim duty, if not outright pity. Meaghan Garvey, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2023 Like the best cringe comedy, the whole thing started out serious, got sort of funny, then very funny, then gratingly unfunny and awkward, and finally just demonically hilarious. Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2023 For a comedy of its era, the film is remarkably free of cringe. Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2023 This is the ultimate disappointment of writer-director Jennifer Cram’s cringe comedy. Courtney Howard, Variety, 18 Oct. 2023 Watching sports media maniacally try to capitalize on the cultural power of Taylor Swift and her female fanbase is the definition of cringe. Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 6 Oct. 2023
Adjective
Personas are so cringe that people will be embarrassed to use these in a work call. Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 Part of the bloat stems from Fielder's penchant for luxuriating in moments of awkwardness, steeping the viewer in their own discomfort long after most shows — even most cringe comedies — would have mercifully cut away. EW.com, 6 Nov. 2023 Still, the Filipino American comedian’s monologue was arguably less cringe than last year’s ceremony, where host Jerrod Carmichael awkwardly laid into the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 Then, there’s Timmy Tim, the cringe rapper, whose bars eventually made it to Saturday night’s equally cringe stage, SNL. Vulture, 8 Dec. 2023 The Curse, a new series premiering this weekend on both Showtime and Paramount+ with Showtime, is an epic masterpiece of cringe comedy — 10 weekly episodes of engulfing discomfort, pain and despair. Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 10 Nov. 2023 Was Timberlake’s cultural stock — already wobbling at dangerously cringe levels in recent years — about to take another hit? Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2023 In fact, some of it was pretty cringe and on the nose and reminded me of being a 13-year-old discovering Tumblr for the first time. Riann Phillip, Vogue, 26 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cringe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English crengen; akin to Old English cringan to yield, Middle High German krank weak

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Noun

1597, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cringe was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near cringe

Cite this Entry

“Cringe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cringe. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cringe

verb
ˈkrinj
cringed; cringing
ˈkrin-jiŋ
1
: to shrink in fear or distaste : cower
cringed at the sight of blood
2
: to behave in a too humble or cowardly way
cringer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on cringe

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