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Cringe vs Cower - What's the difference?

cringe | cower |

As verbs the difference between cringe and cower

is that cringe is to bow or crouch in servility while cower is {{cx|intransitive|lang=en}} To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.

As a noun cringe

is a posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling.

cringe

English

Alternative forms

* (dialectal)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling.
    • He glanced with a cringe at the mess on his desk.
  • (dialect) A crick.

    • Verb

  • (dated) To bow or crouch in servility.
  • * Milton
    • Sly hypocrite, who more than thou / Once fawned and cringed , and servilely adored / Heaven's awful monarch?
  • * 1903 , ,
    • He heard the hateful clank of their chains; he felt them cringe and grovel, and there rose within him a protest and a prophecy.
  • * 1904 , ,
    • Leclere was bent on the coming of the day when Batard should wilt in spirit and cringe and whimper at his feet.
  • To shrink, tense or recoil, as in fear, disgust or embarrassment.
    • He cringed as the bird collided with the window.
  • * Bunyan
    • When they were come up to the place where the lions were, the boys that went before were glad to cringe behind, for they were afraid of the lions.
  • * 1917 , ,
    • But he made no whimper. Nor did he wince or cringe to the blows. He bored straight in, striving, without avoiding a blow, to beat and meet the blow with his teeth.
  • (obsolete) To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle; to distort.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Till like a boy you see him cringe his face, / And whine aloud for mercy.

    Derived terms

    * cringeworthy

    See also

    * crouch * wince

    Anagrams

    *

    cower

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) kuren or from Scandinavian ((etyl) . Unrelated to coward, which is of Latin origin.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
    • He'd be useless in war. He'd just cower in his bunker until the enemy came in and shot him, or until the war was over.
  • * Dryden
    • Our dame sits cowering o'er a kitchen fire.
  • * Goldsmith
    • Like falcons, cowering on the nest.
    See also
    * coward * cowardice

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To cherish with care.
    • (Webster 1913)