Fremdschämen 

A German term which describes the process of being vicariously embarrassed by someone else. For example when somebody's concept for a great party gag goes terrible wrong and you watch him fail in the middle of all of his friends.

Tom was completely wasted while he held the speech on Mike's wedding party. Fremdschämen in perfection.

Fremdschämen by Klawiklawaklawong September 14, 2009

Fremdschämen 

Vicarious embarrassment. Feeling embarrassed on somebody else's behalf.

Mick made a pyar dick of himself when he tagged all his friends into a Facebook argument they weren’t interested in. Proper Fremdschämen.

Fremdschämen by Da Brudder August 26, 2022

Fremdschämen 

When an act is committed by a third-party that leaves you utterly embarrassed.

My feeling after Trump's election was Fremdschämen.

Fremdschämen by thelifeofaguywithoutalife January 30, 2017

FEMAschämen 

That feeling you get when your Federal Government colleague says something so dumb in a meeting that you feel embarrassed for them.

Derived from Femdschämen (German); the feeling of secondhand embarrassment.
Origin: The Federal Emergency Management Agency, but broadly applicable throughout Federal, State, and Local government as well as the government contracting community.

"Jesus. I experienced intense FEMAschämen when S*** asked what the difference between a gigabyte and a megabyte was. I didn't know what to say. It was almost as bad as when G****** emailed us some data, but asked if we could send the spreadsheet back when we were finished because it was their only copy, or when A**** told us that "I have an idea...in my mind'", etc.

FEMAschämen by FEMAMAMA November 10, 2022

Fremdscham 

Friendster. Later, MySpace. Now, Facebook. A.k.a. 'cringe.'

What is Hoody doing on Fremdscham? (Broadcasting a desperate pathological validation dependency.)

Fremdscham by k a a May 31, 2025