Cringe

cringe :noun (plural cringes) - A posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling. He glanced with a cringe at the mess on his desk. - (dialect) A crick. verb (cringes, cringing; past and past participle cringed) - (dated) To bow or crouch in servility. - (intransitive) To shrink, tense or recoil, as in fear, disgust or embarrassment. He cringed as the bird collided with the window. - Bunyan 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. - (transitive) To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle; to distort.