embarrassment
Americannoun
-
embarrassments
plural
-
the state of being embarrassed; disconcertment; abashment.
- Synonyms:
- discomposure
-
an act or instance of embarrassing.
-
something that embarrasses.
-
an overwhelmingly excessive amount; overabundance.
an embarrassment of riches.
-
the state of being in financial difficulties.
-
Medicine/Medical. impairment of functioning associated with disease.
respiratory embarrassment.
noun
-
the state of being embarrassed
-
something that embarrasses
-
a financial predicament
-
an excessive amount; superfluity
Synonym Usage
See shame.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of embarrassment
From the French word embarrassement, dating back to 1670–80. See embarrass, -ment
Explanation
When you feel embarrassment, you are self-conscious or ashamed. Embarrassment might keep you from wearing your Statue of Liberty Halloween costume in public. Something that makes you blush — like when ten people rush up to tell you how great your tuba solo was or realizing that you left the house in your pajama bottoms — causes you embarrassment. The person or thing that makes you feel awkward and ashamed can also be described as an embarrassment. To avoid embarrassment, remember to double the r's and s's when you spell embarrassment.
Vocabulary lists containing embarrassment
Emotions on Display
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Much Ado: Synonyms for "Many"
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"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia, List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
Nowadays, he finds it tough to look back at that version of himself: "While there's a bit of shame and embarrassment... I think there is a bit of empathy for that younger man."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
She told the news outlet that embarrassment prevented her from reporting the attack immediately.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
This debacle over your future is a first-world embarrassment of riches.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
As with so many of The Beatles’ signature albums, “Rubber Soul” proves to be an embarrassment of riches.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
The ongoing embarrassment of East Berlin was also a factor.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Mr. Gates’s reputation has been battered in recent years by personal and public embarrassments, but he does a service to come forward and is right in his warnings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The moves by Khanna and Veasy put Republicans in an awkward spot, but they are likely just symbolic embarrassments.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2025
Why not say it because you know everybody’s thinking it, from those envious little brothers down in San Diego to the expensive embarrassments in New York.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025
Towards the end of his political career, a series of embarrassments - including an affair and allegations of ministerial impropriety - threatened to tarnish his salt-of-the-earth image.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024
They both had enough embarrassments; not everything needed calling out.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
