cringing 1 of 2

cringing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of cringe

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringing
Verb
  • The staff member can be seen cowering down to fend off the attack and then turns and squares up to the irate passenger, who’s wearing a green colored top and army green pants.
    Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 29 Nov. 2024
  • The trauma of war is ever-present in Honda's vision, which sees citizens fleeing for their lives and cowering in the rubble of their homes.
    Katie Rife, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • The issue then was DeSantis’ marginalizing of Black voting strength in North Florida, forcing a submissive Legislature to swallow his map of congressional districts — an issue that’s the Legislature’s prerogative.
    Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2025
  • What’s more, the deal would very likely provoke a political and military crisis in Ukraine, which Russia could exploit to finally achieve its objective of turning the country into a submissive dominion.
    Elie Tenenbaum, Foreign Affairs, 3 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • While adopting a resigned wait-it-out slouch, a running thread at the summit came down to a simple but actionable question: At what point has the United States entered into a constitutional crisis?
    Philip Elliott, TIME, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Suddenly, a season of weekly must-win games and hard conversations gave way to a resigned relaxation.
    Paul Dehner Jr., The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Netanyahu appears convinced that his country’s security, along with his own political survival, depends on prolonging the military offensives and keeping both Gaza and Lebanon ungovernable, and therefore acquiescent.
    Mohanad Hage Ali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024
  • The young man’s comment was out of line, and my silence felt somehow acquiescent.
    Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • Hours later, Newsom welcomed Trump to Los Angeles International Airport, where the men appeared deferential to one another despite photographs being taken of the governor’s assertive body language.
    Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Feb. 2025
  • Pinnacle members receive a gold pin, and a few wear it on the ship as a badge of honor and expect deferential treatment from both passengers and crew.
    Roger Dooley, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • In an earnings call in January, Musk attributed the delay to U.S. and Chinese restrictions that prevent Tesla from quickly developing a locally compliant version of the driver-assistance software.
    Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2025
  • This approach allows brands to expand their reach while fostering loyalty through affiliate networks — ultimately driving growth in a cost-effective, compliant way.
    Joshua Adragna, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • These prices tend to reflect the higher yielding asking price versus the lower yielding bid price.
    Barnet Sherman, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Net interest income for the quarter was $72.2 million, compared to $62.2 million in the previous year, driven by growth in higher yielding loans, primarily from CCBX.
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Shy and unassertive, she’s often been overlooked by others and kept to herself.
    Yasmine AlSayyad, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2023
  • After a time, Patterson’s play-it-down-the-middle approach feels less like the remembrances of a Renaissance man and more like evasive, unassertive hedging.
    Mark Athitakis, Washington Post, 6 June 2022
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Cringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringing. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

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