"The ick" was first coined by Ally in TV show Ally McBeal, and, as dating expert Hayley Quinn explains, "It's a dating term that means you get a sudden cringe feeling when you have romantic contact with someone: and become almost immediately put off by them." You might feel suddenly repulsed, put off or cringed out by ...

What does it mean when you cringe at someone?

/krɪndʒ/ to suddenly move away from someone or something because you are frightened. informal. to feel very embarrassed: I cringed at the sight of my dad dancing.

Why does someone make you cringe?

Developmental psychologist Phillipe Rochat says cringe is an automatic empathy response of either contempt or compassion. ... Now, the contempt or compassion involved in this empathy response is dependent upon the personal experience of the person experiencing cringe, and how they process embarrassment.