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Cringe
Definitions
- 1 Synonym of cringeworthy or uncool, inducing awkwardness or secondhand embarrassment. derogatory, slang
"Brands trying to appeal to young people with memes is the most cringe thing ever."
- 1 Stated in response to something cringeworthy. derogatory, slang
- 1 A gesture or posture of cringing (recoiling or shrinking). countable
"He glanced with a cringe at the mess on his desk."
- 2 A posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling. wordnet
- 3 An act or disposition of servile obeisance. countable, figuratively
- 4 some event or object that causes embarrassment and shame wordnet
- 5 A crick (“painful muscular cramp or spasm of some part of the body”). British, countable, dialectal
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- 6 Things, particularly online content, which would cause an onlooker to cringe from secondhand embarrassment. derogatory, slang, uncountable
"Bro... you just posted cringe"
- 1 Embarrassing in a secondhand way. slang, internet, 2010s-2020s
"That ad is pure cringe."
- 1 To cower, flinch, recoil, shrink, or tense, as in disgust, embarrassment, or fear. intransitive
"He cringed as the bird collided with the window."
- 2 draw back, as with fear or pain wordnet
- 3 To experience an inward feeling of disgust, embarrassment, or fear; (by extension) to feel very embarrassed. figuratively, intransitive
"I'm cringing watching this easily Blizzard- or Square Enix-worthy new trailer for Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls Online. Not because it's bad — it's a deftly rendered slice of CGI. But it must have cost a fortune. It makes me want to say "Spend the money on knocking the game out of the park, please, not the frippery, Bethesda." But oh what frippery."
- 4 show submission or fear wordnet
- 5 To bow or crouch in servility. intransitive
"[I]f they keepe their wits, yet they are accompted fooles by reaſon of their carriage, becauſe they cannot ride a horſe, which euery Clowne can doe; ſalute and court a Gentlewoman, carue at table, cringe and make congies, which euery common ſwaſher can doe, [...]"
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- 6 To act in an obsequious or servile manner. figuratively, intransitive
"Here the beggar accoſts me; had I appeared as himſelf, he had aſked nothing: but now he uncovers, he cringeth, he cries for relief."
- 7 To draw (a body part) close to the body; also, to distort or wrinkle (the face, etc.). obsolete, transitive
"[H]ow thriue you, howe periſh you, and they cringing in their neckes, like rattes, ſmothered in the holde, [...]"
- 8 To bow or crouch to (someone) in servility; to escort (someone) in a cringing manner. obsolete, transitive
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English *crenċan, *crenċġan, *crenġan (“to cause to fall or turn”), the causative of crinċġan (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”), from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- (“to turn”)) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (“to turn inside out, evert”), Dutch krengen (“to careen, veer”) and Dutch kring (“circle”), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (“to cringe; to shrug”), Swedish kränga (“to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss”), and West Frisian kringe (“to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge”); and is a doublet of crinkle. The noun and adjective are derived from the verb via zero derivation.
The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English *crenċan, *crenċġan, *crenġan (“to cause to fall or turn”), the causative of crinċġan (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”), from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- (“to turn”)) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (“to turn inside out, evert”), Dutch krengen (“to careen, veer”) and Dutch kring (“circle”), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (“to cringe; to shrug”), Swedish kränga (“to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss”), and West Frisian kringe (“to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge”); and is a doublet of crinkle. The noun and adjective are derived from the verb via zero derivation.
The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English *crenċan, *crenċġan, *crenġan (“to cause to fall or turn”), the causative of crinċġan (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”), from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- (“to turn”)) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (“to turn inside out, evert”), Dutch krengen (“to careen, veer”) and Dutch kring (“circle”), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (“to cringe; to shrug”), Swedish kränga (“to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss”), and West Frisian kringe (“to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge”); and is a doublet of crinkle. The noun and adjective are derived from the verb via zero derivation.
The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English *crenċan, *crenċġan, *crenġan (“to cause to fall or turn”), the causative of crinċġan (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”), from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- (“to turn”)) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (“to turn inside out, evert”), Dutch krengen (“to careen, veer”) and Dutch kring (“circle”), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (“to cringe; to shrug”), Swedish kränga (“to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss”), and West Frisian kringe (“to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge”); and is a doublet of crinkle. The noun and adjective are derived from the verb via zero derivation.
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