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"Cringe" is an intransitive verb which is often translated as "encogerse", and "squirm" is an intransitive verb which is often translated as "retorcerse". Learn more about the difference between "cringe" and "squirm" below.
cringe(
krihnj
)An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
1. (to cower)
a. encogerse
The police officer found the children cringing in fear in the closet.El policía encontró a los niños encogidos de miedo en el armario.
a. arrastrarse ante
The jester cringed before the king hoping to receive his favor.El bufón se arrastraba ante el rey esperando recibir sus favores.
a. sentir vergüenza ajena
Rogelio's presentation was so poorly prepared that it made everyone cringe.La presentación de Rogelio estaba tan mal preparada que todos sentimos vergüenza ajena.
b. morirse de vergüenza
We couldn't help but cringe listening to Peter trying out pickup line after pickup line on the poor girl.Nos morimos de vergüenza escuchando a Peter echarle un piropo tras otro a la pobre chica.
An adjective is a word that describes a noun (e.g., the big dog).
a. para morirse de vergüenza
Have you seen that video of the politician rapping? It's so cringe!¿Has visto ese video del político rapeando? iEs sin duda para morirse de vergüenza!
b. para morirse de pena (Latin America) (Southern Cone)
Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.
How was the show? - Well, to be honest, the lead singer's performance was super cringe.¿Qué tal el espectáculo? - Pues, para ser sincera, la actuación del líder del grupo fue sin duda para morirse de pena.
c. embarazoso
Dad! Your jokes are so cringe! - Ha, you know you love them!¡Papá! ¡Tus chistes son tan embarazosos! - Ja, ¡en verdad te encantan!
d. incómodo
How was dinner with your boss? - Ugh, so cringe. My boss and his wife argued through the whole dinner!¿Qué tal la comida con tu jefe? - Uf, bien incómoda. Mi jefe y su esposa discutieron durante toda la cena.
squirm(
skwuhrm
)An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
1. (to writhe)
a. retorcerse
Everyone was squirming with laughter during the ridiculous musical number.Todos se retorcían de risa durante el absurdo número musical.
b. revolverse
The children started squirming 30 minutes into the mass.Los niños empezaron a revolverse después de 30 minutos en misa.
a. avergonzarse
The students squirmed when the teacher touched on the topic of sex in class.Los alumnos se avergonzaron cuando el maestro tocó el tema del sexo en la clase.
3. (colloquial) (to avoid; used with "out of")
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. escabullirse
I did all the cooking, so there's no way you're going to squirm out of doing the dishes.Yo cociné todo, así que de ningún modo te va a escabullir de lavar los platos.
