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
-
archaic to make difficult; complicate
-
archaic to impede; obstruct; hamper
Related Words
See confuse.
Other Word Forms
- embarrassed adjective
- embarrassedly adverb
- embarrassingly adverb
- preembarrass verb (used with object)
- unembarrassed adjective
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)
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.
Motherwell were worthy winners at Fir Park and could have inflicted a far more embarrassing scoreline on Nancy's men but for wasteful finishing in their first home victory over Celtic since 2013.
From Barron's
Motherwell were worthy winners at Fir Park and could have inflicted a far more embarrassing scoreline on Nancy's men but for wasteful finishing in their first home win over Celtic since 2013.
From Barron's
“It’s embarrassing for me when I see those things,” he said, “because that’s not what the park is built for.”
But he likely worries, for good reason, they won’t continue to embarrass themselves by denying every round of Epstein stories being released about him.
From Salon
Experts say their successes have embarrassed regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, the main backer of the internationally-recognised Yemeni government.
From Barron's
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.
