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 Word Forms

• cringeworthiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cringeworthy¹

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

Example Sentences

But the one that arrives at the end of the ninth season’s first batch of episodes, now streaming, is perhaps the most cringeworthy, and a sobering reminder of how the show’s fantasy premise doesn’t always triumph over the realities of dating.

From Los Angeles Times

His misguided approach - often aped on the Accidentally Partridge social media account, which shares cringeworthy clips of public figures - is "provocative" but, Coogan hopes, "never mean-spirited."

From BBC

“For Gavin Newsom, it’s all distraction and deflection. Instead of addressing the $283 million price tag taxpayers are stuck with for his partisan power grab, he’s hosting a cringeworthy webinar packed with DC politicians, out-of-state influencers, and irrelevant podcasters, all lining up to applaud his gerrymandered maps,” Millan Patterson said in a statement Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times

Star edge rusher Khalil Mack got his lower left arm crunched on a tackle, the TV replay was cringeworthy, and had to leave the game with an elbow injury.

From Los Angeles Times

The backups provided some cringeworthy moments in a 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers — coach Jim Harbaugh’s old team — making some troubling gaffes in a sloppy second half in Santa Clara.

From Los Angeles Times