cringe

Meaning

1. Embarrassing to watch, in a way that makes the viewer flinch.
2. (noun) Content or behavior that causes that reaction.

“The speech was ten minutes of pure cringe.”

Where it came from

The word is Old English, from a root meaning to bend or crouch in fear. It kept that “recoil in fear or shame” sense for centuries before internet forums in the 2000s and 2010s turned it into a noun for secondhand embarrassment, especially in cringe compilations of awkward videos.