Cringe — Cringe, v. t. To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle; to distort. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Till like a boy you see him cringe his face, And whine aloud for mercy. Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Cringe — Cringe, n. Servile civility; fawning; a shrinking or bowing, as in fear or servility. With cringe and shrug, and bow obsequious. Cowper. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cringe — [krındʒ] v [Date: 1200 1300; Origin: Perhaps from [i]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… … Dictionary of contemporary English
cringe — cringe·ling; cringe; … English syllables
cringe — index truckle Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
cringe — early 13c., from causative of O.E. cringan give way, fall (in battle), become bent, from P.Gmc. *krank bend, curl up (Cf. O.N. kringr, Du. kring, Ger. Kring circle, ring ). Related: Cringed; cringing. As a noun from 1590s … Etymology dictionary
cringe — cower, truckle, *fawn, toady Analogous words: *recoil, quail, flinch, blench, wince: bow, cave, *yield, submit, defer … New Dictionary of Synonyms
cringe — meaning ‘to shrink back in fear’, has inflected forms cringed, cringing … Modern English usage
cringe — [v] flinch, recoil from danger blench, cower, crawl, crouch, dodge, draw back, duck, eat dirt, grovel, kneel, quail, quiver, shrink, shy, start, stoop, tremble, wince; concepts 188,195 Ant. come forward … New thesaurus
cringe — ► VERB (cringing) 1) bend one s head and body in fear or in a servile manner. 2) have a sudden feeling of embarrassment or disgust. ► NOUN ▪ an act of cringing. ORIGIN from an Old English word meaning «bend, yield, fall in battle»; related to… … English terms dictionary
