"Cringe" is the "youth word of the year" for 2021. The term describes something embarrassing or unpleasant and prevailed in a final vote by Langenscheidt Verlag with 42 percent of the votes, as the company announced on Monday in Stuttgart.
Previously, young people had voted on their favorite word in several rounds - what remained, in addition to “cringe”, were the terms “sheesh” and “sus”.
"Sheesh" expresses astonishment or disbelief, the word "sus" means something like "suspicious" or "conspicuous".
"Sus" landed in the final with 32 percent of the votes in second place ahead of "sheesh" (26 percent).
According to Langenscheidt, a total of around 1.2 million young people took part in the election, which began on June 14th.
Since 2020, young people have been able to vote themselves via the publisher's website.
Previously, adults had decided on the youth word, which had repeatedly sparked discussions.
Langenscheidt has been voting for the youth word of the year since 2008 - in the past the election was sometimes criticized as an advertising campaign by the publisher.
Last year “lost” was chosen as the youth word of the year.
It expresses ignorance and uncertainty.
The current winner "cringe" already landed in second place last year.