You watch a video of someone dancing badly at a wedding. Your shoulders tighten. You look away. That is cringe. The word describes embarrassment so strong it makes you physically uncomfortable. It is not just awkward. It is secondhand embarrassment. You feel it for the other person, even though you are safe on your couch.

Cringe became slang in the 2010s. It started on internet forums and spread to everyday speech. "That was cringe." "He is so cringe." The word can be an adjective or a noun. It can describe a person, a post, a haircut, or a public proposal. It is a judgment. It says the person is trying too hard to be cool and failing.

Related terms

• Cringey: the adjective form, more common in speech.
• Cringe attack: a sudden wave of secondhand embarrassment.
• Based: the opposite, meaning authentic and admirable.
• Camp: exaggerated and theatrical, but intentional, not cringe.

Cringe is subjective. What one person finds cringe, another finds sincere. The word can be cruel. It can be used to mock people for being earnest. Use it carefully. The line between cringe and genuine is thin, and everyone has crossed it.