cringe
Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Wikipedia.
cringe
(krĭnj)intr.v. cringed, cring·ing, cring·es
1. To shrink back, as in fear; cower.
2. To behave in a servile way; fawn.
n.
An act or instance of cringing.
[Middle English crengen, to bend haughtily, probably ultimately from Old English cringan, to give way.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cringe
(krɪndʒ)vb (intr)
1. to shrink or flinch, esp in fear or servility
2. to behave in a servile or timid way
3. informal
a. to wince in embarrassment or distaste
b. to experience a sudden feeling of embarrassment or distaste
n
4. the act of cringing
5. (Sociology) the cultural cringe Austral subservience to overseas cultural standards
[Old English cringan to yield in battle; related to Old Norse krangr weak, Middle High German krenken to weaken]
ˈcringer n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cringe
(krɪndʒ)v. cringed, cring•ing,
n. v.i.
1. to shrink or crouch, esp. in fear or servility; cower.
2. to fawn; toady.
n. 3. servile or fawning deference.
[1175–1225; Middle English crengen,crenchen (transitive); Old English *crencean, crencgean, causative of cringan, crincan to yield, fall (in battle), c. Old Frisian krenza, Dutch krengen to keel over]
cring′er, n.
cring′ing•ly, adv.
cring′ing•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
cringe
Past participle: cringed
Gerund: cringing
| Imperative |
|---|
| cringe |
| cringe |
| Present |
|---|
| I cringe |
| you cringe |
| he/she/it cringes |
| we cringe |
| you cringe |
| they cringe |
| Preterite |
|---|
| I cringed |
| you cringed |
| he/she/it cringed |
| we cringed |
| you cringed |
| they cringed |
| Present Continuous |
|---|
| I am cringing |
| you are cringing |
| he/she/it is cringing |
| we are cringing |
| you are cringing |
| they are cringing |
| Present Perfect |
|---|
| I have cringed |
| you have cringed |
| he/she/it has cringed |
| we have cringed |
| you have cringed |
| they have cringed |
| Past Continuous |
|---|
| I was cringing |
| you were cringing |
| he/she/it was cringing |
| we were cringing |
| you were cringing |
| they were cringing |
| Past Perfect |
|---|
| I had cringed |
| you had cringed |
| he/she/it had cringed |
| we had cringed |
| you had cringed |
| they had cringed |
| Future |
|---|
| I will cringe |
| you will cringe |
| he/she/it will cringe |
| we will cringe |
| you will cringe |
| they will cringe |
| Future Perfect |
|---|
| I will have cringed |
| you will have cringed |
| he/she/it will have cringed |
| we will have cringed |
| you will have cringed |
| they will have cringed |
| Future Continuous |
|---|
| I will be cringing |
| you will be cringing |
| he/she/it will be cringing |
| we will be cringing |
| you will be cringing |
| they will be cringing |
| Present Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I have been cringing |
| you have been cringing |
| he/she/it has been cringing |
| we have been cringing |
| you have been cringing |
| they have been cringing |
| Future Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I will have been cringing |
| you will have been cringing |
| he/she/it will have been cringing |
| we will have been cringing |
| you will have been cringing |
| they will have been cringing |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I had been cringing |
| you had been cringing |
| he/she/it had been cringing |
| we had been cringing |
| you had been cringing |
| they had been cringing |
| Conditional |
|---|
| I would cringe |
| you would cringe |
| he/she/it would cringe |
| we would cringe |
| you would cringe |
| they would cringe |
| Past Conditional |
|---|
| I would have cringed |
| you would have cringed |
| he/she/it would have cringed |
| we would have cringed |
| you would have cringed |
| they would have cringed |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Verb 1. cringe - draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf"
move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"
shrink back, retract - pull away from a source of disgust or fear
2. cringe - show submission or fear
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
cringe
verb
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
cringe
verb1. To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust:
2. To support slavishly every opinion or suggestion of a superior:
Slang: suck up.
Idioms: curry favor, dance attendance, kiss someone's feet, lick someone's boots.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَنْكَمِش خائِفا
krčit se
krybe sammen
hrökkva undan
susigūžti
atrautiesnovērsties
korkuyla büzülmek
cringe
[krɪndʒ] VI1. (= shrink back) → encogerse (at ante) to cringe with fear → encogerse de miedo
to cringe with embarrassment → morirse de vergüenza
it makes me cringe → me da horror
to cringe with embarrassment → morirse de vergüenza
it makes me cringe → me da horror
2. (= fawn) → acobardarse, agacharse (before ante)
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
cringe
[ˈkrɪndʒ] vi (with disgust, physically) → avoir un mouvement de recul ; (mentally) → se gêner
to cringe with embarrassment, to cringe in embarrassment → avoir envie de rentrer sous terre
it makes me cringe! (with embarrassment) → ça me donne envie de rentrer sous terre!; (with disgust) → Ça me hérisse! cringe-makingcringe-making [ˈkrɪndʒmeɪkɪŋ] adj (= embarrassing) → embarrassant(e)
to cringe with embarrassment, to cringe in embarrassment → avoir envie de rentrer sous terre
it makes me cringe! (with embarrassment) → ça me donne envie de rentrer sous terre!; (with disgust) → Ça me hérisse! cringe-makingcringe-making [ˈkrɪndʒmeɪkɪŋ] adj (= embarrassing) → embarrassant(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
cringe
vi
(= shrink back) → zurückschrecken (→ at vor +dat); (fig) → schaudern ; to cringe before somebody → vor jdm zurückweichen or -schrecken; he cringed at the thought → er or ihn schauderte bei dem Gedanken ; he cringed when she mispronounced his name → er zuckte zusammen, als sie seinen Namen falsch aussprach
(= humble oneself, fawn) → katzbuckeln, kriechen (→ to vor +dat); to go cringing to somebody → zu jdm gekrochen kommen ; a cringing person → ein Kriecher m; cringing behaviour → kriecherisches Benehmen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
cringe
[krɪndʒ] vi (in terror) to cringe (from) → ritrarsi impaurito/a (da)to cringe (before) (in servility) → strisciare (davanti a)
the very thought of it makes me cringe (fam) (in embarrassment) → solo a pensarci mi sento sprofondare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
cringe
(krindʒ) verb to shrink back in fear, terror etc. The dog cringed when his cruel master raised his hand to strike him. ineenkrimp, terugdeins يَنْكَمِش خائِفا свивам се encolher-se (s)krčit se sich ducken krybe sammen ζαρώνω από φόβο encogerse tagasi tõmbuma خود را جمع کردن؛ کز کردن kyyristyä reculer לְהִרָתַע दुबकना, सिकुड़ना ustuknuti megalázkodik mengerut hrökkva undan (í kút) accucciarsi; farsi piccolo すくむ (겁이나) 움추리다 susigūžti atrauties; novērsties (aiz bailēm u.tml.) mengekot ineenkrimpen krype sammen, krype/ligge på magen kulić się خپل ځان راټولول encolher-se a se face mic (de frică) съёживаться skrčiť sa zdrzniti se, odskočiti ustuknuti krypa ihop, huka sig หดตัว korkuyla büzülmek 畏縮 щулитися ڈر سے پیچھے هٹنا، دبكنا co rúm lại 畏缩
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.