embarrassed

The word “embarrassed” means feeling awkward, ashamed, or self-conscious. In plain terms, the feeling of shame or awkwardness you get when something makes you look foolish, usually in front of others.

“Embarrassed” is pronounced ihm-BAR-uhst (/ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/ in IPA).

Here is “embarrassed” used in a sentence: “She was embarrassed after tripping in front of the whole class.”

Words with a similar meaning to “embarrassed” include abashed, ashamed, discombobulated, mortified, red in the face and shamefaced.

The opposite of “embarrassed” — its antonyms — are honored, proud and unabashed.

“Embarrassed” is an adjective.

“Embarrassed” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Embarrassed means feeling awkward or self-conscious, usually about something social and often minor, such as tripping in public. Ashamed is stronger and more moral, implying guilt about something you believe was genuinely wrong. You can feel embarrassed by praise, but you are only ashamed of conduct you regret.

Embarrassed describes how a person feels: "I was embarrassed." Embarrassing describes whatever causes the feeling: "an embarrassing mistake." Saying "I am embarrassing" when you mean you feel awkward is a common learner error, since it actually means you cause other people embarrassment.

Standard English uses "embarrassed about" or "embarrassed by," as in "She was embarrassed about the mistake" or "embarrassed by the attention." "Embarrassed of" is often heard in casual speech, by analogy with "ashamed of," but it is considered nonstandard in careful writing.

Embarrassed is spelled with a double r and a double s. It is one of the most frequently misspelled words in English, with "embarassed" (one r) and "embarrased" (one s) being the usual errors — remember "double r, double s."