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  1. cringe love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To shrink back, as in fear; cower.
  2. v. To behave in a servile way; fawn.
  3. n. An act or instance of cringing.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To bend; crouch; especially, to bend or crouch with servility or from fear or cowardice; fawn; cower.
  2. Synonyms To stoop, truckle.
  3. To contract; distort.
  4. n. A servile or fawning obeisance.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling.
  2. n. dialect A crick.
  3. v. dated To bow or crouch in servility.
  4. v. To shrink, tense or recoil, as in fear, disgust or embarrassment.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To draw one's self together as in fear or servility; to bend or crouch with base humility; to wince; hence, to make court in a degrading manner; to fawn.
  2. v. obsolete To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle; to distort.
  3. n. Servile civility; fawning; a shrinking or bowing, as in fear or servility.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. show submission or fear
  2. v. draw back, as with fear or pain

Etymologies

  1. Via Middle English, from Old English cringan. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English crengen, to bend haughtily, probably ultimately from Old English cringan, to give way. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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Lists

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Comments

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  • agustinolvera Eclispe by Stephenie Meyer Page 81
    -"I felt Edward cringe." Nov 1, 2010

  • strev what happens when you are hit with a pundit Apr 3, 2009

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‘cringe’ has been looked up 4005 times, loved by 5 people, added to 46 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 9.