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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But in a movie that ends up being quite cringey, those honorable intentions don’t add up to much. Will Leitch, Vulture, 1 July 2024 No less charming is the central, slow-building relationship between Nicholson’s rascal bachelor Harry and Keaton’s prim playwright Erica (although the fact that the movie starts out with Harry dating Erica’s daughter—played by Amanda Peet—is pretty cringey, to be sure). Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cringey was in 1986

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Cite this Entry

“Cringey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cringey. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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