Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for embarrassment of riches. Search instead for Embarrassing+Stories.
Synonyms

embarrassment of riches

Idioms  

  1. An overabundance of something, too much of a good thing, as in All four of them have their own cars but there's no room in the driveway—an embarrassment of riches. This term originated in 1738 as John Ozell's translation of a French play, L'Embarras des richesses (1726).

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The game is an embarrassment of riches for trivia buffs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Tuchel has an embarrassment of riches battling for the number 10 position behind Kane, the hub of England's World Cup operation.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

A director having two great movies out within one year is already an embarrassment of riches for the cinema-starved public.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2025

A greatest-hits revue, devised by producer Cameron Mackintosh, the celebratory show is a true embarrassment of riches.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2025

Because of the generosity of my visitors I had an embarrassment of riches and wanted to share my food with the other prisoners on my floor.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "embarrassment of riches" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com