What does "cringe" mean?
A gesture or posture of cringing (recoiling or shrinking).
Cringe
/kɹɪnd͡ʒ/ adj, intj, noun, verb, slang
adj, intj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A gesture or posture of cringing (recoiling or shrinking).
- Grammar: cringe is listed as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abase, abash, abashed, afeared.
- Useful contrasts: admiration, approach, approval.
- Usage evidence: Why don't you calm down? You're really making me cringe.
How to use "cringe"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cringe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cringe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cringe" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cringe" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cringe" is acting as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abase" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cringe", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 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
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Things, particularly online content, which would cause an onlooker to cringe from secondhand embarrassment. derogatory, slang, uncountable
"Bro... you just posted cringe"
Verb
- 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, [...]"
Show 3 more definitions
- 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
Adjective
- 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."
Intj
- 1 Stated in response to something cringeworthy. derogatory, slang
Slang
- 1 Embarrassing in a secondhand way. slang, internet, 2010s-2020s
"That ad is pure cringe."
Antonyms
Example
"Why don't you calm down? You're really making me cringe."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cringe"?
Common synonyms include: abase, abash, abashed, afeared, apple-polish, avoid.
How do you use "cringe" in a sentence?
Why don't you calm down? You're really making me cringe.
How do you pronounce "cringe"?
Pronounced /kɹɪnd͡ʒ/.
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.