embarrass
/ɪmˈbæɹəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.41 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to encumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands.
Transitive verb
name
A river or settlement in the United States:
name
A river or settlement in the United States:
name
A river or settlement in the United States:
name
A river or settlement in the United States:
Example Sentences
- "The crowd's laughter and jeers embarrassed him."
- "The motion was advanced in order to embarrass the progress of the bill."
- "If they [registers] act It all, it must be by opposing their flat surfaces to the current of rising smoke in a manner which cannot fail to embarrass and impede its motion.."
- "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."
- "In the case at bar, there is very little beyond bare assertions and bald statements against the unidentified and unspecified Defendant(s). The claim is vexatious in that the Defendant, if identifiable, is left both embarrassed and unable to defend itself. The Court is left with a proceeding so ill-defined that it is unable to discern an argument, or identify any specific material facts."
- "A man or his business is embarrassed when he cannot meet his pecuniary engagements."
Etymology
Etymology tree Akkadian 𒆟 (rakāsum) Akkadian 𒄙 (markasu)bor. Classical Syriac ܡܰܪܫܳܐ (maršā)bor. Arabic مَرَسَة (marasa)der. Old Galician-Portuguese baraço Old Galician-Portuguese embaraçarbor. Old Spanish embaraçar Spanish embarazarbor. French embarrasserbor. English embarrass 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.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: embarrasser, embarazar, imbarazzare, embaraçar
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪmˈbæɹəs/
- British English: /ɪmˈbæɹəs/