Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of cringe.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective totally submissive

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cringing.

Examples

  • This child spent his first eleven years in San Francisco, trailing his father up and down the hills, watching him swim in San Francisco Bay, and cringing from the blows that a drunken dad might aim at his head.

    Robert Frost 2010

  • I remember when this show opened and could not wait to see it, but found myself cringing from the cheese of it.

    New Footage from The Adventures of Conan Live Show! Cromsblood 2010

  • When he wasn't cringing from the warrior thunder, Kurtzhau (aged 2 and a lot) had his toy jetfighter lined up with the real thing, matching the insanely tight turns, vertical climbs and stunning dives.

    Air show! Planes! zornhau 2006

  • He was still in the strait-waistcoat and in the padded room, but the suffused look had gone from his face, and his eyes had something of their old pleading -- I might almost say, "cringing" -- softness, I was satisfied with his present condition, and directed him to be relieved.

    Dracula 1897

  • New rule for the coming month: whenever NPR starts a story with a polka band in the next few weeks, I’m likely to be cringing from the Northeastern PA accents (and “logic”) that follows soon after.

    My appalling birthplace (fourth in an infinite series) « Pennamite 2008

  • While I think it's a nice proactive approach that I hope Chris Baty takes seriously alerting participants about scammers, I think it's much ado about nothing, and her cringing is a bit of an over-reaction.

    Hey NaNoWRIMo, do the right thing here, ok? Miss Snark 2006

  • These may be called the cringing canvass and the flouting canvass.

    Memoir of the Life of John Quincy Adams. Josiah Quincy 1818

  • They recall cringing when a customer noticed she was pregnant and put a hand on her tummy; they thought she'd deck the guy.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2009

  • I cringe when I hear some one refer to an Israeli as a Zionist and are using it as a radical Muslim hater uses Islamo-fascist; so I guess "cringing" goes both ways and Ron is correct.

    Banning some words HERE on This Website 2007

  • I cringe when I hear some one refer to an Israeli as a Zionist and are using it as a radical Muslim hater uses Islamo-fascist; so I guess "cringing" goes both ways and Ron is correct.

    Banning some words HERE on This Website 2007

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.