cringe-making

British

/ ˈkrɪndʒˌwɜːðɪ /

adjective

informal causing feelings of acute embarrassment or distaste

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While the spectacle of awards shows can be embarrassing, a cringe-making combo of self-congratulation and self-effacement, the hype always gets me in the end.

From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2023

But he added: "With a few exceptions, Borat's satirical jabs don't land with quite the same cringe-making force this time; the setups are too convoluted, the anonymous targets too genial, the payoffs too meagre."

From BBC • Oct. 22, 2020

Britain is now the butt of global mirth and cringe-making sympathy.

From The Guardian • Dec. 25, 2018

How cringe-making it must have been for Baltimore fans when their coach claimed, “It’s not something anybody’s ever done before.”

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2015

And his white guy in the ghetto odyssey was both cringe-making and pretty funny.

From Salon • May 16, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023