embarrass
Americanverb (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.
-
to beset with financial difficulties; burden with debt.
The decline in sales embarrassed the company.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(also intr) to feel or cause to feel confusion or self-consciousness; disconcert; fluster
-
(usually passive) to involve in financial difficulties
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archaic to make difficult; complicate
-
archaic to impede; obstruct; hamper
Related Words
See confuse.
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing embarrass
Super Bowl Blowout: Epic Vocab for the Big Game
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2
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List 4
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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.
But he's also very loud and he does bear grudges: he will undoubtedly continue to swing punches at OpenAI and attempt to embarrass it from his social network X.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Also, don’t embarrass your friend or shame her daughter by mentioning it to your friend, even in passing.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026
This is not revelation: The defense secretary is well known for preening for the cameras with a level of self-regard that would embarrass most supermodels.
From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026
“To embarrass them, yes, but it’s to embarrass them to stop them and others from engaging from this conduct,” Hochman said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
The twins quickly change their tune, because while I’ll only pinch and stare at them, Mama will straight up call them out and embarrass them in front of all these people.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
