cringey

• cringe-y, cringy

From cringe +‎ -y.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɪnd͡ʒi/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪnd͡ʒi

cringey (comparative cringier or more cringey, superlative cringiest or most cringey)

1. Characterised by causing feelings of embarrassment; embarrassing.

   Synonym: cringeworthy

   • 2025 September 12, Lisa Respers France, “Rainn Wilson says ‘The Office’ was ‘based around clueless, insensitive, racist, sexist people’”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     During a recent appearance on “The Last Laugh” podcast, the actor, who played Dwight Schrute on the hit NBC comedy, talked about how cringey parts of the series could be.

   • 2026 March 12, Spencer Taylor, “Squirrels and Fat Cats” (12:16 from the start), in Animal Control‎^[2], season 4, episode 8, spoken by Zoe (Sasha Rojen):

     “Hey, girl. You are so dope. I love, I love that fit. Um... Question. And this is like super cringey. Um... Do you think you could be, like, chiller to Addy?” “Are you somebody's mom? Is somebody missing their mom?” “Nope. No, I'm not that much older than you. I'm, like, borderline big sister age.” “Maybe you need to spend less time looking up teen slang on ChatGPT because it's giving you a tech neck. Wrinkles in the front. Hump in the back. You're a humpback whale. Humpback.” [students chanting] “Humpback, humpback, humpback! Humpback, humpback, humpback! Humpback, humpback, humpback!” “What did you do?” “I hate my neck!”

2. Cringing; cowardly.