Meaning
US slang, pronounced CHOO-ghee, for a person or style that is unfashionable in a particular way: not merely dated but trying too hard, the opposite of trendy. It typically teases millennial-era tastes such as inspirational quote decor or girlboss branding. Pejorative on the whole, though some people adopt it jokingly; largely an online, generational word that has cooled since its peak. Pejorative internet slang with a teasing generational edge; date-sensitive and already fading. Regional use: US slang; spread online internationally.
Origin
Contrary to the assumption that TikTok invented it, the term was coined around 2013 by Gaby Rasson, then a student at Beverly Hills High School, for people who were slightly off trend; an Urban Dictionary entry followed in 2018. In March 2021 Hallie Cain posted a TikTok explaining the word, which drew about 100,000 likes and a wave of media explainers. Taylor Lorenz's New York Times article of 29 April 2021, which profiled the term and its young users, made it mainstream and became one of the Style desk's most-read stories. The American Dialect Society then voted it the 2021 informal word of the year, announced on 7 January 2022. Coverage framed it as a Gen Z-versus-millennial clash, with some debate over misogynistic undertones, and usage has visibly faded since the 2021 spike.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- cheug
- cheugie
- cheugiest
- cheuginess
Usage Examples
- Decorating the flat with inspirational quote signs felt a bit cheugy to her roommates.
- Is a side part really cheugy, or is that joke past its prime too?
- He cheerfully admitted his wardrobe was cheugy and kept wearing it anyway.