Cringy

This meaning is about something that makes you feel second-hand embarrassment — you're not the one doing it, but watching it makes you want to look away. Imagine someone at a party trying way too hard to be funny, telling jokes that nobody laughs at, and not realising the whole room has gone silent — that moment is cringey. This is describing that uncomfortable, squirming feeling you get when someone does something embarrassing without knowing it. You might say "that speech was so cringey" about a best man's wedding speech full of bad jokes and awkward stories, or someone could call a company's attempt to use teenage slang in an advert "incredibly cringey". Or think about watching old videos of yourself as a teenager — the hairstyle, the poses, the things you said — and feeling your whole body tense up because it's so cringey you can barely watch. The word suggests something is painfully awkward, often because the person doesn't realise how they're coming across.