To cower, flinch, recoil, shrink, or tense, as in disgust, embarrassment, or fear.
To experience an inward feeling of disgust, embarrassment, or fear; (by extension) to feel very embarrassed.
To bow or crouch in servility.
To act in an obsequious or servile manner.
Inducing awkwardness, embarrassment, or secondhand embarrassment; cringemaking, cringeworthy, cringy.
A gesture or posture of cringing (recoiling or shrinking).
An act or disposition of servile obeisance.
A crick (“painful muscular cramp or spasm of some part of the body”).
Awkwardness or embarrassment which causes an onlooker to cringe; cringeworthiness.
to draw back in fear; cringe, back down, shy away