embarrass

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from French embarrasser, from Middle French embarrasser, embarasser (“to embarrass; to block, obstruct”), from Spanish embarazar, either from Italian imbarazzare or from Portuguese embaraçar. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɪmˈbæɹ.əs/ (General American, Mary–marry–merry merger, Canada) IPA(key): /ɪmˈbɛɹ.əs/ Hyphenation: em‧bar‧rass Rhymes: -æɹəs === Verb === embarrass (third-person singular simple present embarrasses, present participle embarrassing, simple past and past participle embarrassed) (transitive) to humiliate; to disrupt somebody's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely; to abash. (transitive) To hinder from liberty of movement; to impede; to obstruct. 1896, Frederic Harrison, addendum to Harriet Martineau's translation of The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte Vol. 3, p. 418.: This will... be the principal part of education; and this alone will effectively dispel that theological philosophy, which, in its decline, is still powerful enough to embarrass the course both of intellectual and social progress. (transitive) To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to encumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands. (transitive, formal) To perplex mentally; confuse, disconcert; catch off guard. ==== Synonyms ==== (humiliate): abash, discomfit, disconcert, humiliate, shame See also Thesaurus:abash ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === “embarrass”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 === Further reading === “embarrass”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “embarrass”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “embarrass”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.