- present participle of embarrass.
embarrassing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Use the adjective embarrassing to describe something that is shameful or humiliating. You probably have a few embarrassing stories that you'd rather not remember, but your siblings are always happy to bring them up at holidays. It's really embarrassing how many people misspell embarrassing. The word has two r's and two s's but you might forget and leave one of them out. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if you were winning the third grade spelling bee and got the word embarrassing wrong. You know everyone would be talking about it. How embarrassing!
Vocabulary lists containing embarrassing
Awkward Moments
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Schooled
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Neighborhood Odes
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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.
I also connected my personal Gmail account with “read only” access: It could see emails but couldn’t delete them or shoot off embarrassing notes to my entire address book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The hack is particularly embarrassing from a technical perspective because ShinyHunters is not generally regarded as a highly sophisticated hacking group.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
The list of failed enterprises bearing his family moniker is as long as it is embarrassing.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
This is an embarrassing admission, considering I write about personal finance for a living.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
“If you don’t mind sharing a roof with the most embarrassing dad of all times, maybe you could come over this weekend,” she says.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
