Word.ws English Dictionary

cringeworthy

Syllables: cringe·worthy/ˈkɹɪnd͡ʒˌwɜːði/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈkɹɪnd͡ʒˌwəːðɪj/

cringeworthy adjective: that causes or may cause one to cringe with disgust, embarrassment (often vicarious embarrassment), etc.; awkward, disgusting, embarrassing.

Adjective

cringeworthy (comparative more cringeworthy or cringeworthier, superlative most cringeworthy or cringeworthiest)

  1. (informal) That causes or may cause one to cringe with disgust, embarrassment (often vicarious embarrassment), etc.; awkward, disgusting, embarrassing.
    • But the top goon's one-panel reform described by Robin on the last page was absolutely cringeworthy … especially since the author had so successfully built up his image as a first-rate shnook.1967 November, Guy Lillian, “Letters to the Batcave”, in Batman, number 196, Sparta, Ill.: National Periodical Publications, →OCLC, column 2
    • Lena Dunham's acclaimed show about the highs and lows – but mostly lows – of being young in the city ends its first season this week. We remember the cringe-worthiest moments we almost wish we didn't.2012 June 15, Halle Kiefer, “The Ten Most Cringe-Worthy Moments on ‘Girls’”, in Rolling Stone, New York, N.Y.: Penske Media Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2025

Synonyms of cringeworthy

Forms of cringeworthy

comparativemore cringeworthy
comparativecringeworthier
superlativemost cringeworthy
superlativecringeworthiest
alternative formcringe-worthy

Origin of cringeworthy

From cringe (verb) + -worthy (suffix meaning of ‘sufficient worth for, deserving of’), popularized by the surname of the character Cuthbert Cringeworthy, an extremely studious pupil introduced in 1972 into The Bash Street Kids, a comic strip by the Scottish cartoonist David Sutherland (1933–2023) published in the British magazine The Beano.

Words formed from cringeworthy

Questions about cringeworthy

What does cringeworthy mean?
Cringeworthy means that causes or may cause one to cringe with disgust, embarrassment (often vicarious embarrassment), etc.; awkward, disgusting, embarrassing.
What part of speech is cringeworthy?
Cringeworthy is an adjective.
How do you pronounce cringeworthy?
Cringeworthy is pronounced /ˈkɹɪnd͡ʒˌwɜːði/ (UK).

Words near cringeworthy in the dictionary

  1. cringeth
  2. cringeworthier
  3. cringeworthiest
  4. cringeworthily
  5. cringeworthiness
  6. cringeworthy
  7. cringey
  8. cringey-ness
  9. cringeyness
  10. cringier
  11. cringiest

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cringeworthy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-cringeworthy.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-cringeworthy.wav.

Cite this entry: “cringeworthy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cringeworthy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.