Etymology: Cringe, from the old English cringan, meaning “to yield” or “fall in battle.” The word evolved to mean “quake in fear” before acquiring its contemporary meaning of recoiling in embarrassment or disgust. It was generally used as a verb until the mid-2010s, when “cringe-worthy” and “cringe-inducing” went out of fashion and “cringe” became an adjective in its own right. Meaning: So many behaviors have been described as “cringe” recently that it can be hard to establish clear parameters for the concept. Generally, the word is applied to the vicarious awkwardness one feels when watching an action performed badly or tastelessly. Witnessing something cringe is almost a physical sensation: You wince and grimace in embarrassment for those poor souls who know not what they do. The one mercy of being deemed “cringe” is that the stakes are usually small—you This story is from Kinfolk Issue Fifty-One Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 50 Word: Dupe On the next best thing. Arts & Culture Issue 49 Word: Zeitgeber A new treatise on time. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Word: Kaloprosopia A word that celebrates the masks we wear. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Word: Döstädning A Swedish solution to the mess of death. Arts & Culture Issue 46 Word: Wintering When to withdraw from the world. Arts & Culture Issue 45 Word: Explication An explanation to end all explanations.
