1
as in winces
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe
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Recent Examples of cringes
Payton cringes at the mention of a sophomore slump, that defenses will figure out Nix.
—
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringes
Verb
-
The burger contains two one-pound patties, 10 pieces of bacon, two layers of mushrooms (Beard winces at the thought of mushrooms), two layers of blue cheese crumbles and Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, tomato and lettuce.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Bryan winces after weighing in at 597 lbs.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Advertisement Throughout the narrative, Johnson never flinches in his portrayal of the wreck, unleashing footage of investigators approaching the car and the victims’ families.—
Jake King-Schreifels,
Time,
15 May 2026
-
DiVincenzo never flinches at adversity.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
While JoAnne recoils from Duncan’s machinations, her son Orson finally bottoms out in the supplement pit of the manosphere.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
17 May 2026
-
Anaia recoils from this request, but Racine is fully up for the mission.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
When placed in front of him, the child either cowers backward in fear and sighs with relief when it's turned off or uses the Force to deactivate it.—
Kirsten Acuna,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The world cowers in fear, waiting to see what Homelander will do next, and guess what?—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cringes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringes. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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