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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The results of a recent survey from wealth-management platform Betterment are making America’s financial advisers cringe.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Social media users were also split, with one viewer writing that Meghan was "warm, gracious and a delight to watch" while another called Prince Harry's cameo appearance "cringe".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
“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
Men may cringe; women may laugh out loud.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
I saw Clancy cringe at the high-pitched shriek of sirens, too, but he straightened himself up from his core.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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
Moss opens up about his struggles to negotiate the demands of the practical world, while Hodgetts performs brilliant critiques of the others’ work, sometimes to broad smiles, others to cringes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
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
Then, as Sasha careens toward him, he cringes and climbs onto his seat.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
Like almost every parent, I cringed whenever my child or another player headed the ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
“Daddy’s home,” someone said, and a nation cringed.
From Slate ● Nov. 16, 2023
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
At first I cringed in anger that the comment had been made, but then I cringed in shame, knowing that in some ways the comment described me.
From Salon ● May 16, 2001
She cringed and slapped her hand over her mouth.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
“If you’re cringing about writing one performance review, imagine your manager who has to write 15 of them,” says executive coach Sabina Nawaz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
“We are cringing, as it could result in changes across our menus,” Ms. Hallman said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
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
A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
Vocabulary lists containing cringe
The Lingo of Body Language
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"Of Mice and Men"
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List 13
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