cringing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of cringingnext
as in shrinking

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

cringing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of cringe
1
as in wincing
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust gruesome crime scene photos that made several jurors cringe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flinching
to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission the puppy cringed when his master raised the rolled-up newspaper

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cringing
  1. cowering
  2. submissive
  3. resigned
  4. acquiescent
  5. deferential
  6. compliant
  7. yielding
  8. unassertive
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
Definition of cowering
Adjective
  • Women were expected to be apologetic and submissive.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Alice is Zoey’s domme — the dominant partner in the relationship — and Zoey is the sub, or submissive.
    Kayla Levy, Curbed, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of submissive
Adjective
  • Crowds gathering for the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival on the sprawling palace grounds reached into backpacks for umbrellas with the resigned look of people attending a supremely English occasion designed to be held in sunshine.
    Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
  • The second-year Chicago Bears cornerback let out a resigned sigh and laugh.
    Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2024
Definition of resigned
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
Definition of acquiescent
Adjective
  • Malcolm’s directorial choices diverge from his father’s old-school creative sensibilities; the pacing is faster, the music more dramatic and less deferential to the story’s era.
    Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024
  • For folks who remain defiantly deferential to whiskies of the British Isles, that’s a serious wakeup call.
    Brad Japhe, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
Definition of deferential
Adjective
  • General chatbots are often not compliant with the federal law restricting the release of medical information, and the companies behind the bots will frequently advise users not to share sensitive information in their conversations with the bots, Wei added.
    Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Customer interactions, voluntary surveys and loyalty programs will be critical to create substantial, compliant marketing strategies.
    Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Definition of compliant
Adjective
  • 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
  • Investors are constantly on the prowl to find the highest yielding bonds for the lowest risk.
    Barnet Sherman, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Definition of yielding
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
Definition of unassertive
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near cringing

cringes (at)

cringing

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Cite this Entry

“Cringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cringing. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on cringing

Nglish: Translation of cringing for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of cringing for Arabic Speakers

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