CEFR B2

cringe

verb

Meaning

To recoil in embarrassment, disgust, or fear; to feel or show acute discomfort.

I cringed when the speaker made an inappropriate comment during the presentation.
The awkward silence made everyone in the room cringe.

Synonyms: wince, flinch, recoil, squirm

verb

Pronunciation: /krɪndʒ/

To recoil in embarrassment, disgust, or fear; to feel or show acute discomfort.

I cringed when the speaker made an inappropriate comment during the presentation.
The awkward silence made everyone in the room cringe.
He cringed at the thought of having to sing in front of the whole class.

make someone cringe (collocation): To cause someone to feel intense embarrassment or discomfort. — "His terrible puns always make me cringe."
cringe at (prepositional phrase): To react with discomfort or embarrassment to something specific. — "She cringed at the memory of her failed audition."
cringe-worthy (collocation): So embarrassing, awkward, or bad as to cause one to cringe. — "The entire awards ceremony was a cringe-worthy display of self-congratulation."

Words with a similar meaning to cringe:

Words with the opposite meaning to cringe: