cringed; cringing
1
: to recoil in distaste
… Americans cringed … at the use of a term now regarded as a slur.—
William Safire
William Safire2
: to shrink in fear or servility
The terrified animal cringed in the corner.
3
: to behave in an excessively humble or servile way
vendors cringing to tourists for sales
4
: to draw in or contract one's muscles involuntarily (as from cold or pain)
… we cringe under the blasting wind …—Charles S. Houston
Charles S. Houston
cringer
noun
slang
: so embarrassing, awkward, etc. as to cause one to cringe : cringeworthy
a cringe moment
cringe comedy [=comedy involving jokes that make people uncomfortable]
It's hard to find a movie from the early 2000s that isn't a little cringe.—theringer.com
theringer.comExamples of cringe in a Sentence
Verb
Many English teachers cringe when their students use the word “ain't.”
I always cringe when I hear that song.
Just the thought of eating broccoli makes me cringe.
The dog cringed at the noise.
Recent Examples on the Web
Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 19 Mar. 2026
There was a time when Lauren Conrad would cringe looking back at MTV's groundbreaking reality series Laguna Beach.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Mar. 2026
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2026
The show’s cringe comedy was trendsetting, too — the image of Valerie voting in a cupcake outfit is more exquisitely painful to behold than anything on The Office — and perhaps because of its acid tone, it wasn’t picked up for a second season by HBO.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2026
As with the 2023 iteration of Jury Duty, which was nominated for four Emmys, Norman is really a person who doesn’t know the show — which focuses on cringe comedy as the actors try to weird out Norman — is a joke.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cringe
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Verb
The irony is that Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy would be the first person to cringe at all the attention being placed on her Levi’s jeans and basic white button-downs.
—Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 19 Mar. 2026
There was a time when Lauren Conrad would cringe looking back at MTV's groundbreaking reality series Laguna Beach.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Mar. 2026
Noun
The world was first introduced to Saoirse-Monica Jackson as the awkward and expressive schoolgirl Erin Quinn in Derry Girls, navigating Troubles-era Northern Ireland and its conflict with the same fervor as her crushes, convent school, and cringe-inducing teenage chaos.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2026
The show’s cringe comedy was trendsetting, too — the image of Valerie voting in a cupcake outfit is more exquisitely painful to behold than anything on The Office — and perhaps because of its acid tone, it wasn’t picked up for a second season by HBO.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
But even when Heidecker and Turkington gamble on someone who might not fully get the joke, the result miraculously fits itself into their world of cringe comedy.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2026
As with the 2023 iteration of Jury Duty, which was nominated for four Emmys, Norman is really a person who doesn’t know the show — which focuses on cringe comedy as the actors try to weird out Norman — is a joke.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cringe
Cite this Entry
“Cringe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cringe. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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