cringey

American  

[krin-jee] / ˈkrɪn dʒi /

Or cringy

adjective

Informal.

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

   The movie brought back my cringey middle school memories.

2. seeking favor by means of servile behavior or flattery.

   His talk show is mostly cringey interviews with celebrities.

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Etymology

Origin of cringey

First recorded in 1965–70; cringe ( def. ) + -y ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

“It’s really hard to write comedy in dialogue versus comedy in a situation because if you’re putting the comedy in the dialogue, it can sound so forced and cringey. But she’s really good at making it sound natural but still really funny.”

From Los Angeles Times

It’s so overly consultant-speak cringey that I can clearly picture a corporate off-site meeting about to go into breakout sessions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Kind of a cringey comedic bit between Trevor Noah and Bad Bunny that I won’t go to the trouble of play-by-playing here.

From Los Angeles Times

Mason describes Noah as “super funny but respectful — and not cringey funny, which is important for our show.”

From Los Angeles Times

Something similar played out a few years back with Geriatric Millennials, born in the early '80s, whose brand of humour—the crying-laughing emoji, finger moustaches and the word "adulting"—was derided as cringey.

From BBC