Embarrass Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of embarrass ; to cause to experience a state of self-conscious distress ; b · to place in doubt, perplexity, or difficulties ; c · to involve in ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut embarrass verb SaveWord em·​bar·​rass |\im-ˈber-əs ,-ˈba-rəs\ embarrassed;embarrassing;embarrasses Definitionofembarrass transitiveverb 1a :tocausetoexperienceastateofself-consciousdistress bawdystoriesembarrassedhim b :toplaceindoubt,perplexity,ordifficulties c :toinvolveinfinancialdifficulties 2a :tohamperthemovementof b :hinder,impede 3 :tomakeintricate:complicate 4 :toimpairtheactivityof(abodilyfunction)orthefunctionof(abodilypart) digestionembarrassedbyovereating intransitiveverb :tobecomeanxiouslyself-conscious heembarrasseseasily OtherWordsfromembarrass Synonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym Didyouknow? Embarrass:ItsSpellingandUse MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutembarrass OtherWordsfromembarrass embarrassable \ im-​ˈber-​ə-​sə-​bəl ,-​ˈba-​rə-​ \ adjective Synonymsforembarrass Synonyms abash, confound, confuse, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforembarrass embarrass,discomfit,abash,disconcert,rattlemeantodistressbyconfusingorconfounding.embarrassimpliessomeinfluencethatimpedesthought,speech,oraction. thequestionembarrassedhersomuchshecouldn'tanswer discomfitimpliesahamperingorfrustratingaccompaniedbyconfusion. hecklersdiscomfitedthespeaker abashpresupposessomeinitialself-confidencethatreceivesasuddencheck,producingshyness,shame,orafeelingofinferiority. abashedbyherswiftandcuttingretort disconcertimpliesanupsettingofequanimityorassuranceproducinguncertaintyorhesitancy. disconcertedbyfindingsomanyinattendance rattleimpliesanagitationthatimpairsthoughtandjudgment. rattledbyallthetelevisioncameras Didyouknow? EmbarrasscomesfromPortugueseembaraçar,whoseprefix(em-)isfromLainin-andwhosebasewordmeans"noose."Alhoughembarrasshashadvariousmeaningsrelatedtoactsthathinderorimpede,thesedaysitmostoftenimpliesmakingsomeonefeelorlookfoolish. Embarrass:ItsSpellingandUse Areyouherebecauseyouspelledembarrasswrong?Don'tbeembarrassed. Instead,rememberthatthewordembarrassgotthoseembarrassingr'sands'sfromtheFrench:EnglishembarrasscomesfromtheFrenchwordembarrasser. Whenusedasanactiveverb,embarrassismostoftenseeninconstructionslike"xembarrasses/embarrassedme/them."Thewordisalsoverycommonlyusedasapassiveverb.Insuchcases,theprepositionbyisafrequentcompanion: Privatecompanieswereembarrassedbybeingshowntoco-operatewiththeAmericanauthorities.—TheEconomist,12Nov.2016 Teenagersarealwayseasilyembarrassedbytheirparents.—FarleyGranger,IncludeMeOut:MyLifefromGoldwyntoBroadway,2007 Inthatmoment,IknowIhavebeguntoassignthetermitesthepowersofvolitionanddesire,theexperiencesofpainandregret.Iamembarrassedbythis,anddarenotmentionittothescientists.—DuncanMurrell,Harper's,August2005 Peoplearealsoregularlyembarrassedaboutsomething: Hisattorneysaidhewasembarrassedabouttheincidentanddidn'twantanybodytonoticehim.—RichardMartin,TheAtlanticMonthly,June2001 Fictionhasnoreasontobeembarrassedabouttellingthesamestoryagainandagain,sinceweall,withinfinitevariations,livethesamestory.—JohnSimon,TheNewRepublic,21Nov.1983 Sometimesthey'reembarrassed(ornot)onsomeone'sbehalf—thatis,they'reembarrassedforsomeone: NobodyeverfeltembarrassedforYokoOno.—BrunoMaddox,Spy,November1996 They'relesscommonlyembarrassedatsomething: Shewouldbedeeplyembarrassedatmyadmiration,moresoatmynamingherinprint.—NancyHarmonJenkins,TheNewYorkTimesMagazine,4May1986 Hiscogentreasoningmademeembarrassedatmyownfirstreaction….—DavidGreenberg,TheNewRepublic,14Nov.1994 Occasionally,andbysomemeasuresincreasingly,peopleareembarrassedofsomething,asin"They'reembarrassedofthewayithappened."Thisuseisnotyetcommoninpublished,editedtextandisconsideredbysometobeamistake. ExamplesofembarrassinaSentence Unexpectedlaughterembarrassedthespeaker. She'sworriedaboutembarrassingherselfinfrontofsuchalargeaudience. Iwouldneverdoanythingtoembarrassmyfamily. Theprotestwasstagedasadeliberateattempttoembarrassthegovernment. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Allcoachesrunintosomeknuckleheadwhowantstorunupthescoreandembarrassyou. — MikePreston,baltimoresun.com,21Feb.2022 Ofcourse,collegeathleticsgoingoutofitswaytoembarrassitselfisnothingnew. — PaulNewberry,ajc,10Dec.2021 TheNinerscan’texpectthePackerstoembarrassitselfliketheCowboys,whosemanymiscuesincludedsevenpre-snappenalties. — TomKrasovic,SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,16Jan.2022 SecurityexpertssaidtheleakerappearedmotivatedbyadesiretoembarrassTwitchandreduceusers’trustinthecompany. — ToddSpangler,Variety,7Oct.2021 Thisinformationisusedforphishingattacksthatdeliverransomwareandpostedtocriminalname-and-shamesitesthatareusedtoembarrassandcoercevictims. — DanPatterson,CBSNews,22July2021 ButformerPrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu’sLikudPartyandhisalliesdecidedtoopposeittoembarrassBennettandharmhiscoalition,whichincludesasmallArabparty. — LaurieKellman,ajc,6July2021 ButformerPrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu'sLikudPartyandhisalliesdecidedtoopposeittoembarrassBennettandharmhiscoalition,whichincludesasmallArabparty. — LaurieKellman,StarTribune,6July2021 Thecamerascanstillcapturetheinspections,butusethefieldtoplayball,nottoembarrasstheparticipantsandtickoffthefans. — JohnShea,SanFranciscoChronicle,26June2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'embarrass.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofembarrass 1578,inthemeaningdefinedattransitivesense2a HistoryandEtymologyforembarrass Frenchembarrasser,fromSpanishembarazar,fromPortugueseembaraçar,fromem-(fromLatinin-)+baraçanoose LearnMoreAboutembarrass Shareembarrass PosttheDefinitionofembarrasstoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofembarrassonTwitter TimeTravelerforembarrass Thefirstknownuseofembarrasswas in1578 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear ListentoOurPodcastAboutembarrass ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNearembarrass embarrasderichesses embarrass embarrassed SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforembarrass LastUpdated 26Feb2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Embarrass.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embarrass.Accessed8Mar.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforembarrass embarrass verb em·​bar·​rass |\im-ˈber-əs \ embarrassed;embarrassing KidsDefinitionofembarrass :tocausetofeelconfusedandfoolishinfrontofotherpeople Havingtodismounttoturnthebicyclearoundwasembarrassing…—BeverlyCleary,RamonaQuimby,Age8 embarrass transitiveverb em·​bar·​rass |\im-ˈbar-əs \ Medical Definitionofembarrass :toimpairtheactivityof(abodilyfunction)orthefunctionof(abodilypart) digestionembarrassedbyovereating MorefromMerriam-Websteronembarrass Nglish:TranslationofembarrassforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofembarrassforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY riddle SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary DifficultSpellingWordsQuiz Whichisthecorrectspelling? accommodate acommadate accomodate acommodate Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. 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