different between cringe vs cringeworthy

English

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English *cren?an, *cren??an, *crengan (“to cause to fall or turn”), the causative of crin??an (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”), from Proto-Germanic *krangijan? (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *kringan?, *krinkan? (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (from Proto-Indo-European *gren??- (“to turn”)) + *-jan? (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (“to turn inside out, evert”), Dutch krengen (“to careen, veer”), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (“to cringe; to shrug”), Swedish kränga (“to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss”), and West Frisian kringe (“to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge”); and is a doublet of crinkle.

The noun and adjective are derived from the verb.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /k??nd??/
• Rhymes: -?nd?

Verb

cringe (third-person singular simple present cringes, present participle cringing, simple past and past participle cringed)

1. (intransitive) To cower, flinch, recoil, shrink, or tense, as in disgust, embarrassment, or fear.
2. (intransitive, figuratively) To experience an inward feeling of disgust, embarrassment, or fear; (by extension) to feel very embarrassed.
3. (intransitive) To bow or crouch in servility.
4. (intransitive, figuratively) To act in an obsequious or servile manner.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To draw (a body part) close to the body; also, to distort or wrinkle (the face, etc.).
6. (transitive, obsolete) To bow or crouch to (someone) in servility; to escort (someone) in a cringing manner.

Conjugation

Alternative forms

• crinch (dialectal)

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• crouch
• wince

Noun

cringe (countable and uncountable, plural cringes)

1. (countable) A gesture or posture of cringing (recoiling or shrinking).

2. (countable, figuratively) An act or disposition of servile obeisance.
3. (countable, Britain, dialectal) A crick (“painful muscular cramp or spasm of some part of the body”).
4. (uncountable, slang) Awkwardness or embarrassment which causes an onlooker to cringe; cringeworthiness.

Translations

Adjective

cringe (comparative more cringe, superlative most cringe)

1. (slang) Inducing awkwardness or embarrassment; cringemaking, cringeworthy, cringy.

Translations

Notes

References

Anagrams

• cering, genric, rec'ing

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English cringe.

Noun

cringe m (invariable)

1. (neologism) cringe

Adjective

cringe

1. (neologism) cringy

English

Alternative forms

• cringe-worthy

Etymology

cringe +? -worthy

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k??nd??w??ð.i/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?k??nd??w?ð.i/

Adjective

cringeworthy (comparative more cringeworthy, superlative most cringeworthy)

1. (colloquial) That causes one to cringe with embarrassment; embarrassing.

Synonyms

• cringy
• squirmworthy
• winceworthy

Derived terms

• cringeworthily
• cringeworthiness

Translations