What does Cheugy mean?
Cheugy describes something once fashionable that now reads as dated or as trying too hard.
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Slang.
Where it comes from
Coined around 2013 by a Beverly Hills high-school student, Gaby Rasson, as a private word among friends for a specific kind of out-of-date taste. It went mainstream in 2021 through a New York Times piece and a wave of TikToks, mostly aimed at millennial aesthetics by Gen Z.
How it is actually used
Aimed at signifiers rather than people: Live Laugh Love signs, side parts, skinny jeans, Minion memes, wedding hashtags. It is milder than an insult and carries an affectionate eye-roll, but it is generational, and the joke is usually at millennials’ expense. It also aged fast — calling something cheugy in 2026 is itself slightly cheugy, which is part of why it now appears in self-deprecation more than in criticism.
Examples
- "the font on this is so cheugy"
- "I know it’s cheugy but I love it"
- "cheugy or classic? be honest"
Can a brand use it? Depends on context
Fine for self-deprecation, risky pointed outward — you are calling a segment of your own audience out of touch. Note also that the word has dated, so it can make a brand sound behind rather than current.
Related terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What does cheugy mean?
Out of date in a specific way: something that was once stylish and now signals trying too hard, usually associated with millennial taste.
Where did cheugy come from?
It was invented as a friend-group word by Gaby Rasson around 2013 and spread widely in 2021 after New York Times coverage and a run of TikToks.
Is cheugy an insult?
A soft one. It mocks the aesthetic rather than the person, and it is frequently used about oneself.
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