Meaning & use
cringe
To flinch or shrink back slightly from fear, disgust, or embarrassment.
See it in a sentence
I cringed when I heard my recorded voice played back.
He cringed at the memory of his awkward speech from years ago.
A note on using this word
Cringe is now also used informally as a noun for something embarrassingly awkward, as in that video was such a cringe.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. noun
Something that causes secondhand embarrassment, or the feeling of awkward embarrassment itself.
The whole speech was such a cringe that nobody could watch it.
Make it your own
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