1
as in winced
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe
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Recent Examples of cringed
During a hospital stay, Roy’s enfeebled mother fixates on the caste and religious affiliations of the doctors treating her—the sort of thing that will be familiar to anyone who has cringed at a diminished elder’s unfiltered prejudices.
—
Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringed
Verb
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These images of an expanding Kong appeared on the screen and the actors on stage in front of it flinched in horror as the dwarfing image of Kong’s bigness loomed menacingly behind them.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
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The last time Congress faced a deadline to extend government funding, Senate Democrats flinched, giving Republicans the votes needed to avert a government shutdown without extracting any concessions.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Videos recorded by witnesses at the Utah Valley University event showed Kirk being shot in the neck and bleeding heavily as his body recoiled.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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As detailed in Tina Fey’s 2011 memoir, Bossypants, Jimmy Fallon, who was also in the show’s cast at the time, jokingly recoiled and told Poehler to stop it.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But we’re not so easily cowered.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cringed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringed. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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