cringe
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.
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“To be cringe about it, the ’90s babydoll dress wasn’t designed for the male gaze,” says my friend Rachel, a keen observer of Gen X fashion then and now.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
Anytime I see a word like “bulletproof” — or any of its siblings like “sure thing” or “safe bet” — I cringe.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
If you’re letting your friends and family know what you care about in hopes that they’ll feel comfortable sharing that they care, too, you’re doing something far from cringe.
From Slate ● May 15, 2026
By and large, fans are more allergic to showboating than sports purists who cringe over endzone celebrations and bat flips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Even a droplet of blood made her cringe.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
He drives a Ford pickup truck and cringes at needing a security detail, according to a person who knows him well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
"I was in the studio and Lois texted me, 'By the way, we forgot our anniversary'," he cringes.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” served up a symphony of social disaster over the course of 12 seasons and almost 24 years on HBO, wringing cackles and cringes from the misadventures of the serially inappropriate Larry David.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
I'm a loving person who cringes at everything associated with February 14, a fan of democracy who wants to hide every time July 4 rolls around and a very grateful individual who actively dislikes Thanksgiving.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2023
No one really cringes if I bump into them anymore, and people borrow my pencils without acting like the pencil has cooties.
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
Like almost every parent, I cringed whenever my child or another player headed the ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
As we showered afterward, I cringed when my hair came away in our hands.
From Slate ● May 23, 2026
The lead lawyer for Google "visibly cringed" when the specific share of ad revenue sent to Apple was revealed, according to Bloomberg.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2023
As a nurse attending births in the 1980s, Sojobi said, she cringed when she observed patients being hustled to the operating room if they hadn’t given birth by a set time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2023
Fadi cringed, wanting to dive behind the ten-pound rice bags.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Anyone beyond the land of candlepin bowling and cringing at red clam chowder thought they had a better shot at finishing at the bottom of the standings than reaching the Super Bowl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
Even some liberal economists are cringing a bit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
Reading through these items, I confess, I had a difficult time not cringing.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2023
“If I’m not embarrassed by what I did yesterday, if I’m not cringing about what I did yesterday, I did not grow,” Ms. Bichri said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2023
She resumed cringing in horror once Mr. Quisling finished copying James’s note:
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Vocabulary lists containing cringe
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List 13
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