cringeworthy

or cringe-wor·thy

[ krinj-wur-thee ]

adjective

1. causing a reaction or feeling of embarrassment, awkwardness, or discomfort:

   They exchanged glances at the show’s cringeworthy attempts at humor.

Other Words From

• cringe·wor·thi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cringeworthy¹

First recorded in 1975–80; cringe ( def ) + -worthy ( def )

Example Sentences

“She was a jewel of a wife … with just one flaw,” read one of the many cringeworthy Lysol ads produced in early 1900s America.

From Ozy

To Marris—and to many readers, I’d expect, myself included—there is something cringeworthy here.

From Outside Online

The replies to Kim Doughty’s Twitter thread are both hilarious and cringeworthy.

From Search Engine Land

The reward for winning the cringeworthy NFC East last season is a gantlet of elite opponents, including five division winners and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10.

From Washington Post

Aside from an occasional cringeworthy off-site exercise, most managers are simply thrown into tough conversations and have to tread water.

From Fortune

Have you ever witnessed one that was particularly cringeworthy?

From The Daily Beast

What this portends for next year and beyond is cringeworthy.

From The Daily Beast

At points, Tomorrow Night is all of those things, ranging from cringeworthy to laugh-out-loud funny.

From The Daily Beast

But thank Idol for the cringeworthy joy of watching Britney Spears somnambulantly giving out singing advice on live television.

From The Daily Beast

We know that failure of justice is not infrequent; it just never had such a cringeworthy label.

From The Daily Beast