Synonyms

embarrass

American

[em-bar-uhs] / ɛmˈbær əs /

verb (used with object)

to cause confusion and shame to; make uncomfortably self-conscious; disconcert; abash.

His bad table manners embarrassed her.

Synonyms:

chagrin, discomfit, discompose
to make difficult or intricate, as a question or problem; complicate.
to put obstacles or difficulties in the way of; impede.

The motion was advanced in order to embarrass the progress of the bill.

Synonyms:

hinder, hamper
to beset with financial difficulties; burden with debt.

The decline in sales embarrassed the company.

verb (used without object)

to become disconcerted, abashed, or confused.

embarrass British

/ ɪmˈbærəs /

verb

(also intr) to feel or cause to feel confusion or self-consciousness; disconcert; fluster
(usually passive) to involve in financial difficulties
archaic to make difficult; complicate
archaic to impede; obstruct; hamper

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See confuse.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of embarrass

1665–75; < French embarrasser < Spanish embarazar < Portuguese embaraçar, equivalent to em- em- ¹ + -baraçar, verbal derivative of baraço, baraça cord, strap, noose (of obscure origin)

Explanation

If you embarrass someone, you make them feel self-conscious, awkward, or even stupid. Your mom might embarrass you by inviting your date to check out your childhood photos. Embarrass actually has another meaning, but it's very rarely used: to blockade, hinder, obstruct, or stymie. Nowadays, we tend to embarrass one another (and ourselves) by pretty much sticking to the basics: making fun of our friends when they blunder, accidentally revealing secrets in public, confessing our undying love to people who don't even know we exist, and all the millions of creative and frustrating ways we have of making mistakes.

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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:

embarrass embarrasses embarrassed embarrassing

That does not just embarrass the network, it threatens the corporation itself.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026

If you are going to go, can you at least not embarrass yourself?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

She said the "really concerning" cases were times when "the customer is disgruntled about something that's happened... they confront the shop worker, film and upload it in order to embarrass the retailer".

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

As a place that came of age with the automobile, Los Angeles is a sprawl of freeways with a public transport system that would embarrass any medium-sized European city.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

“Mrs. Hayward just read it to embarrass me. She hates my guts.”

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Or from locking up Mick Cronin through 2030, even though UCLA’s prickly basketball coach embarrasses the university annually and hasn’t reached a Sweet 16 since 2023.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

I guess he is about 80, but the answer he gives embarrasses me.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2025

"The seizure of envelopes with money in the office of a person I chose hurts me... embarrasses me before the Portuguese and I have a duty to apologise," Costa said.

From Reuters ● Nov. 11, 2023

His invasion and behavior embarrasses many Russian speakers and makes them rethink their allegiance.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 17, 2023

Me shrinking away from his touch embarrasses me in a way I don’t entirely understand.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Our house was small, and I was embarrassed to have friends over.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Allyson felt deeply embarrassed that her family, including her husband’s parents, saw the convincing-looking image.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

I showed up to the appointment late, soaked, and embarrassed.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

"They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive."

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

He was embarrassed about Teddy pushing him, but mostly he was sad.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Is it, as younger generations might argue, simply being embarrassing?

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

They are decidedly un-classic: Billie’s desperation to scrub her embarrassing social-media history before a job interview, for instance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The one caveat, Zucker says — a clown is by far the most embarrassing brand of comedian you can be.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

An improvement on the source material: HBO’s new show Lanterns takes a character with an embarrassing history and makes him fascinating.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

“Well . . . that shouldn’t be embarrassing, really. Since lots of schools accept such a small percentage of people.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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