cringe-o-meter

cringe-o-met·er
UK/ˈkɹɪnd͡ʒəʊˌmiːtə/US/ˈkɹɪnd͡ʒoʊˌmitɚ/US[-ɾɚ]

A form of cringeometer — An imaginary device that measures cringeworthiness (the extent to which something makes one cringe; that is, flinch or recoil with embarrassment).

Meanings

nouncringe-o-meter (plural cringe-o-meters)

plural cringe-o-meters

  1. alternativeAlternative form of cringeometer.

    How Does Your Dad Rate On The Cringe-O-Meter? [title]

    2011 June 11, “How does Your Dad Rate on the Cringe-O-Meter?”, in NPR, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2016
    2 more examples

    If Alpha Papa was your introduction to [Alan] Partridge, you'll be wanting to dig through the Parchives, pronto. (Just make sure cringe-o-meters are set to stun.)

    2018 September 5, “The 60 Best TV Shows on Netflix UK”, in Empire, London: Bauer Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Aug 2020

    The cringe-o-meter peaks during a scene in which a shirtless [Charlie] Hall, well, masters his domain. Hall said he had no issue showing that scene to his mother [Julia Louis-Dreyfus], who played Elaine on "Seinfeld" for nine seasons.

    2020 January 23, Teddy Greenstein, “Remember Charlie Hall? The Former Northwestern Walk-on Stars in a New Web Series that Made His Mom Julia Louis-Dreyfus Laugh.”, in Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.: Tribune Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Feb 2020

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

cringe-o-meter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cringe-o-meter

MLA

“cringe-o-meter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cringe-o-meter. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cringe-o-meter,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cringe-o-meter.

Source: cringe-o-meter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.