cringe
(Informal)
[verb]
Synonyms:
- shrink, cower, draw back, flinch, recoil, shy, wince
- grovel, bootlick (informal), crawl, creep, fawn, kowtow, pander to, toady

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Related Idioms: bow and scrape, eat dirt
Related Words: blench, flinch, quail, recoil, wince, croodle, crouch, shrink

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

cringe /krɪndʒ/ verb [intransitive]
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Perhaps from Old English cringan 'to give up']

1. to move away from someone or something because you are afraid:
A stray dog was cringing by the door.
She cringed away from him.

2. to feel embarrassed by something you have said or done because you think it makes you seem silly ⇒ wince
cringe at
She cringed at the sound of her own voice.
It makes me cringe when I think how stupid I was.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲