cringey

adjective

ˈkrin-jē 

variants or less commonly cringe-y or cringy

informal

: tending to cause one to cringe (as out of embarrassment or discomfort) : cringeworthy

By the end of the book Ford has run through at least eight motels/hotels/tepees … and five cringey references to "making love": it can wear a person out.

—Susannah Meadows

Not every moment of my freshman college experience has been cringey.

—Juliette Carey

Even though parts of Trudeau's speech may feel cringe-y to some Canadians, it's pretty understandable how an American audience could feel thirsty for a leader preaching "friendship" and "love."

—Allison Tierney

also : inclined to cringe

The things I've written that make me cringe … . I feel cringey whenever I read passionate old essays of mine.

—Elizabeth Gilbert

Examples of cringey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These scenes are cringey and absurd, but there’s something compelling about choosing the conditions of your own humiliation — and having some fun with it. —Beatrice Loayza, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2023

Fem-tech brands (like pelvic floor trainer Elvie or smart breast pump Willow) have helped, filling what was once a white space and spurring conversation by creating products that address an oft-unspoken need and, just as importantly, aren’t cringey to buy. —Fiorella Valdesolo, Vogue, 19 Jan. 2022

Despite a lifetime of rooting for abject (or near abject) teams—the New York Knicks, the Oakland A’s, the Buffalo Bills—there was always something cringey about rooting for the USMNT. —Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 29 Nov. 2022

And if hugging a tree or smelling the dirt feels unnatural and cringey to you, find a different way. —Madeline Holcombe, CNN, 22 Apr. 2022

Who's ready for another super-cringey resort vacation? —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 10 Aug. 2021

The Mavericks, who have a super-cringey recent history of sexism within the organization, hired Jason Kidd, who pleaded guilty to a spousal abuse charge in 2001. —Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 June 2021

And this production is smart enough to downplay the occasional domestic-violence quip that today feels more cringey than jokey. —Matthew J. Palm, orlandosentinel.com, 8 May 2021

Bieber may have made one of the most cringey Christmas tunes of all time. —Gena Kaufman, Glamour, 2 Dec. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above