Intransitive: When "cringed" is used intransitively, it means to recoil or shrink back in fear, disgust, or embarrassment. This usage does not require a direct object.
* Example: "He cringed at the thought of public speaking."
Transitive: When "cringed" is used transitively, it means to recoil or shrink back from something specific. This usage requires a direct object.
* Example: "She cringed at the loud noise."
In this example, "cringed" is used transitively because it's taking the object "the loud noise" as the thing she recoiled from.
Therefore, the transitivity of "cringed" depends on the context of the sentence.