cringe

cringe
    v 1: draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they
         showed the slaughtering of the calf" [syn: {flinch},
         {squinch}, {funk}, {cringe}, {shrink}, {wince}, {recoil},
         {quail}]
    2: show submission or fear [syn: {fawn}, {crawl}, {creep},
       {cringe}, {cower}, {grovel}]
    

Cringe \Cringe\, n.
   Servile civility; fawning; a shrinking or bowing, as in fear
   or servility. "With cringe and shrug, and bow obsequious."
   --Cowper.
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Cringe \Cringe\ (kr[i^]nj), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cringed}
   (kr[i^]njd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Cringing}.] [As. crincgan,
   cringan, crincan, to jield, fall; akin to E. crank.]
   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.
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         When they were come up to the place where the lions
         were, the boys that went before were glad to cringe
         behind, for they were afraid of the lions. --Bunyan.
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         Sly hypocrite, . . . who more than thou
         Once fawned and cringed, and servilely adored
         Heaven's awful monarch?                  --Milton.
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         Flatterers . . . are always bowing and cringing.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.
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Cringe \Cringe\, v. t.
   To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle;
   to distort. [Obs.]
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         Till like a boy you see him cringe his face,
         And whine aloud for mercy.               --Shak.
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86 Moby Thesaurus words for "cringe":
      apple-polish, avoid, bend, bend the knee, bend the neck, bend to,
      blench, blink, bootlick, bow, bow and scrape, bow down, bow to,
      brown-nose, cower, crawl, creep, cringe to, croodle, crouch,
      crouch before, curtsy, defer, do homage, do obeisance, dodge,
      draw back, draw in, duck, eat dirt, evade, fade, fall back, fawn,
      flatter, flinch, funk, genuflect, get down, grovel, hang back,
      hunch, hunch down, jib, kneel, kneel to, knuckle to, kowtow,
      lick the dust, lickspittle, pull back, pull in, pull out, quail,
      quiver, recoil, reel back, retract, retreat, scrouch down,
      sheer off, shrink, shrink back, shy, sidestep, skulk, slaver,
      slink, sneak, squat, start aside, start back, stoop, swerve,
      toadeat, toady, tremble, truckle, truckle to, turn aside, wallow,
      weasel, weasel out, welter, wince, withdraw