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Cringy vs Cringe - What's the difference?

cringy | cringe |

As an adjective cringy

is cringeworthy.

As a noun cringe is

a posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling.

As a verb cringe is

to bow or crouch in servility.

cringy

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • cringeworthy
  • * {{quote-news, year=2008, date=May 4, author=Virginia Heffernan, title=Voilà (Sort Of)!, work=New York Times citation
  • , passage=The series features a fantastic, cringy scene set at the upfronts, and the whole show serves as an excavation of the prime-time TV life, from the high-flying ‘80s to the mystifying nows. }}

    Anagrams

    *

    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

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