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Trepidation vs Cringe - What's the difference?

trepidation | cringe |

As nouns the difference between trepidation and cringe

is that trepidation is a fearful state; a state of hesitation or concern while cringe is a posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling.

As a verb cringe is

to bow or crouch in servility.

trepidation

English

Noun

(-)
  • A fearful state; a state of hesitation or concern.
    • I decided, with considerable trepidation , to let him drive my car without me.
  • * 1929 , , Chapter VII, Section vi
    • She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation . Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=December 10 , author=Marc Higginson , title=Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men.}}
  • An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear; quaking; quivering.
  • (astronomy, obsolete) A libration of the starry sphere in the Ptolemaic system; a motion ascribed to the firmament, to account for certain small changes in the position of the ecliptic and of the stars.

    • Synonyms

    * (fearful state) agitation, apprehension, consternation, fear, hesitation, worry

    Related terms

    * intrepid * trepid * trepidate * trepidatory * trepidancy * trepidity * trepidly * trepidatious

    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

    *