Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb cringe

2 senses of cringe

Sense 1
flinch, squinch, funk, cringe, shrink, wince, recoil, quail -- (draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf")
       => move -- (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right")

Sense 2
fawn, crawl, creep, cringe, cower, grovel -- (show submission or fear)
       => bend, flex -- (form a curve; "The stick does not bend")

Antonyms of adj cringing

1 sense of cringing

Sense 1
cringing, groveling, grovelling, wormlike, wormy -- (totally submissive)

INDIRECT (VIA submissive) -> domineering -- (tending to domineer)

Similarity of adj cringing

1 sense of cringing

Sense 1
cringing, groveling, grovelling, wormlike, wormy -- (totally submissive)
       => submissive (vs. domineering) -- (inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination; "submissive servants"; "a submissive reply"; "replacing troublemakers with more submissive people")