type
adjective / noun / verb
pronounced
/cringe/
emerged
recent
status
mainstream

cringe

   uncomfortable, dismissive

the one-line answer

Something embarrassing, awkward, or socially uncomfortable.

Cringe describes something that makes you physically recoil from second-hand embarrassment. It is embarrassing to witness. Calling something cringe is a dismissal of its social calibration.

mainstream

Your coworker might use this word.

01 / in the wild

hear it move.

reaction
his speech was so cringe I had to leave the room.
His speech was so embarrassing I could not stay to watch.