- 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.
Is it, as younger generations might argue, simply being embarrassing?
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
They also called the venue "embarrassing to the Nation's Capital".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
“The only embarrassing thing is how many people reached out and told me how much better written this was than normal,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 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
It was a little embarrassing, since Rabiya and Soojin were the only ones who ever said stuff like that to me before.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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.
