cringe
1
6.5
- noun
- /krɪndʒ/
- Slang
:
vergüenza ajena
- Lila feels the cringe but pretends not to have.
- cringe-inducing
- a kind of cringe
We're going to be talking about some TikTok cringe like this.
- We're going to be talking about some TikTok cringe like this.
- Simo that's Italian for cringe by the way.
Examples
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His decision to wear socks with sandals at the party was a major source of cringe amongst his friends.
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It just could potentially lead to like a moment of discomfort, discomfort of cringe or whatever.
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And you sort of feel this in this cringe building up inside of you.
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You know, seeing yourself on TV is like the most cringe thing you could possibly do.
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I suppose it's like people see it as cringe or they see it as try hard.
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There was a lot of cringe stuff out there early Internet, including me.
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It's like it's such an uncomfortable and cringe thing to look at.
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Indeed, the arguments used to support the view would make a statistician cringe.
Academic text (2001) -
I thought it funny and clever, but I can see where it would make someone with old-fashioned views of sexuality cringe.
Blog text (12) -
The domestic policies of the war on terror have been so successfully mischaracterized that the mere mention of terms like Guantanamo Bay, rendition, and enhanced interrogation produces a reflexive cringe of patriotic shame.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
219
3.1
A feeling of awkwardness or shame
15
4.1
A short time when people feel uncomfortable or embarrassed
An event that makes you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable
Antonyms
Compounds
- Literature
A social habit of criticizing or making fun of people for things seen as embarrassing, making others avoid sharing
How Embarrassing
- Offensive
148
4.2
418
2.3
- Slang
1
6.5
219
3.1
15
4.1
Surface Forms
Etymology
Cringe comes from the same old verb cringan, 'to bend' or 'give way', so a cringe is something that makes you feel embarrassed and want to shrink away.