cringe
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
cringe
- /ˈkɹɪnd͡ʒ/
- [ˈkʰɹʷɪnd͡ʒ]
Rhymes with -ɪndʒ
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English *crenġan, *crenċġan, *crenċan (“to cause to fall or turn”) from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), causative of Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (> Old English crin(c)gan (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”)), from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- (“to turn”)). The causative suffix is from *-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.
verb cringes · cringing · cringed · cringe
- To cower, flinch, recoil, shrink, or tense, as in disgust, embarrassment, or fear. He cringed as the bird collided with the window.
- To experience an inward feeling of disgust, embarrassment, or fear; (by extension) to feel very embarrassed. 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, n
- To bow or crouch in servility. [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, [...]
- To act in an obsequious or servile manner. Here the beggar accoſts me; had I appeared as himſelf, he had aſked nothing: but now he uncovers, he cringeth, he cries for relief.
- To draw (a body part) close to the body; also, to distort or wrinkle (the face, etc.). [H]ow thriue you, howe periſh you, and they cringing in their neckes, like rattes, ſmothered in the holde, [...]
- To bow or crouch to (someone) in servility; to escort (someone) in a cringing manner.
noun cringes
- A gesture or posture of cringing (recoiling or shrinking). He glanced with a cringe at the mess on his desk.
- An act or disposition of servile obeisance.
- A crick (“painful muscular cramp or spasm of some part of the body”).
- Things, particularly online content, which would cause an onlooker to cringe from secondhand embarrassment. Bro... you just posted cringe
adjective more cringe · most cringe
- Synonym of cringeworthy or uncool, inducing awkwardness or secondhand embarrassment. Brands trying to appeal to young people with memes is the most cringe thing ever.
interjection
- Stated in response to something cringeworthy.
