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Glite Dictionary
cringe culture

cringe culture

8.6
A social habit of criticizing or making fun of people for things seen as embarrassing, making others avoid sharing
  • noun
  • /krɪndʒ ˈkʌltʃər/
  • Literature
translation icon : cultura de la vergüenza
  • Some argue that cringe culture stifles creativity and individual expression.

Examples

  • Many teenagers feel pressured by cringe culture when posting online.

  • The rise of cringe culture has made some people more cautious about sharing their interests.

  • The rise of cringe culture has made many people afraid to express themselves.

  • Isn't cringe culture damaging to creativity?

  • Many teenagers feel pressured by cringe culture when posting online.

  • Some argue that cringe culture stifles creativity and individual expression.

  • The rise of cringe culture has made some people more cautious about sharing their interests.

Antonyms

acceptance
101 2.9

Willingness to be friendly to people and ideas that are different

Surface Forms

cringe culture singular
cringe cultures plural

Morphology

cringe + culture

The meaning is directly built from 'cringe' (something causing embarrassment) modifying 'culture' (shared social practices), yielding a culture characterized by widespread embarrassment or mocking. This noun-modifier composition follows standard English patterns and should be inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Cringe culture comes from cringe, the small physical reaction, like a shiver or an awkward face, when something feels 'embarrassing', and culture, meaning the shared behaviour of a group. So, it means a social space where people are often mocked or 'criticized' for things others find embarrassing, which makes many people stop sharing what they like.