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 Canadian comedian, writer and producer Fielder is famous for harnessing the power of awkwardness, cringe and deadpan wit to great, if unsettling, comedic effect.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Today, folks on social media debate the merits of including off-duty pursuits, with opponents calling it cringe, irrelevant or amateurish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
But many comments and shares called the video "cringe".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The results of a recent survey from wealth-management platform Betterment are making America’s financial advisers cringe.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The sight of the trees and the forest floor made him cower and cringe.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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
The Orange County-based singer-songwriter visibly cringes a little, remembering how the piano-rock/emo-adjacent concept album chronicled a painful breakup with the woman who would eventually become his wife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Everyone I know in Seattle specifically cringes when they hear that and I understand that that is a very strange characteristic!
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
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
Anya and Ivan yelped and cringed, and the domovoi reappeared.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
"Every time I see it, I'm cringing, I'm in disbelief," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
“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
Isidore smelled the rank, cringing body; he inhaled fear from it, fear pouring out, forming a mist.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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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