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cringe

Pronunciation: /krɪn(d)ʒ/

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Definition of cringe

verb (cringes, cringing, cringed)

[no object]

bend one’s head and body in fear or apprehension or in a servile manner:he cringed away from the blow (as adjective cringing)we are surrounded by cringing yes-men and sycophants
experience an inward shiver of embarrassment or disgust:I cringed at the fellow’s stupidity

noun

an act of cringing.

Derivatives

cringer

Origin:

Middle English crenge, crenche, related to Old English cringan, crincan 'bend, yield, fall in battle', of Germanic origin and related to Dutch krengen 'heel over' and German krank 'sick', also to crank¹

cringe in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of cringe in the US English dictionary

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Other

cringe

verb (cringes, cringing, cringed)

noun

Derivatives

cringer

Origin:

cringe in other Oxford dictionaries

Nearby words

More results for cringe

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