Scringe

//skɹɪnd͡ʒ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act or sound of scratching or scraping. UK, US, dialectal

    "Any teenager who, like myself, has ever got the gooseflesh at the flush and scringe of Hopkins's assonances and alliterations proves this upon his or her pulses ."

  2. 2
    A cringe. UK, US, dialectal

    "Well, on that June day I embraced her with a slight scringe, and, seating her in my armchair, threw myself down upon the floor, out of reach of her arms, with my hands clasped around my knees."

  3. 3
    A type of dragnet with a bag in the center and a very fine mesh.

    "Trawling, or scringing, for salmon trout is, in some respects, similar to splashing, and is also carried on between the hours of sunset and sunrise, in the nooks, bays, and other suitable places along the sore of either the coast or of the sea-water loch, into which rivulets and streams empty themselves, although there are many places in which the splash net can be advantageously used where the scringe cannot be employed, as the latter requires a clear bottom, without any impediments, otherwise it cannot be drawn to the shore."

Verb
  1. 1
    To cringe or shrink. UK, US, dialectal, intransitive

    "It made me scringe to hear her, Sir, " said she, adding, with a change of tone, " but I must scringe for myself yet; for , oh dear! how can I talk about other people's sins, and I such a sinner!"

  2. 2
    To scrape. UK, US, dialectal, intransitive

    "When a boy sharpens his slate-pencil with a knife, he says it makes his teeth 'scringe'."

  3. 3
    To fish using a scringe.

    "Trawling, or scringing, for salmon trout is, in some respects, similar to splashing, and is also carried on between the hours of sunset and sunrise, in the nooks, bays, and other suitable places along the sore of either the coast or of the sea-water loch, into which rivulets and streams empty themselves, although there are many places in which the splash net can be advantageously used where the scringe cannot be employed, as the latter requires a clear bottom, without any impediments, otherwise it cannot be drawn to the shore."

Example

More examples

"Any teenager who, like myself, has ever got the gooseflesh at the flush and scringe of Hopkins's assonances and alliterations proves this upon his or her pulses ."

Etymology

Compare cringe and shrink.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.