1
as in to wince
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cringe
That clip, featuring Jennifer rapping along without missing a beat while her daughter cringes, drew another 1 million views and more than 50,200 likes.
—
Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
The virality potential of cringe marketing mirrors the explosive popularity of cringe humor more generally.
—Anton Naianzin, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
Anybody with any kind of feeling or memory of rolling their ankle is going to physically cringe watching this.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Over the past few years, generational warfare has only ramped up—so much so that it’s become boring to even reference: Gen Z hating on millennials for being cringe, millennials hating on Gen Z for being puritanical, and everyone hating on boomers for being, well, boomers.
—Daisy Jones, Vogue, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cringe
Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
The virality potential of cringe marketing mirrors the explosive popularity of cringe humor more generally.
—Anton Naianzin, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
Anybody with any kind of feeling or memory of rolling their ankle is going to physically cringe watching this.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Over the past few years, generational warfare has only ramped up—so much so that it’s become boring to even reference: Gen Z hating on millennials for being cringe, millennials hating on Gen Z for being puritanical, and everyone hating on boomers for being, well, boomers.
—Daisy Jones, Vogue, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cringe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringe
Verb
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Goertzel winced, because the question is challenging.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
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Not just my face but also the faces of all middle-aged women who foolishly smiled, laughed, winced, frowned or squinted between birth and the year 2025.—
Gwen Rockwood,
Arkansas Online,
22 May 2025
Verb
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Amid tension over OpenAI’s corporate structure, the organization’s corporate development hasn’t so much as flinched.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
30 May 2025
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Ariane’s first instinctive reaction to her mother’s extended hand is to flinch.—
Stephanie Bunbury,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
Verb
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Advertisement Advertisement Macron briefly recoils, turns his head, and then smiles and waves at the press.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
26 May 2025
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There’s no doubt that Trump and congressional Republicans recoil at the left-wing slant of PBS and NPR.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
24 May 2025
Verb
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Babbitt and several other rioters sought to break through the barricaded House chamber where lawmakers from both parties cowered in fear for their lives when Byrd shot her.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
19 May 2025
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The Hall might have had the independent spine to do this without MLB’s blessing, but cowered and did not.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cringe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringe. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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