embarrassing

adjective em·bar·rass·ing \ im-ˈber-ə-siŋ , -ˈba-rə- \

Definition of embarrassing

:causing a feeling of self-conscious confusion and distress :causing embarrassment

an embarrassing error

The official was ever so polite, and ever so sorry, but the rule was strict, and he could not let us in. It was very embarrassing, for many eyes were on us.
—Mark Twain

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embarrassingly

play \im-ˈber-ə-siŋ-lē, -ˈba-rə-\ adverb

- an embarrassingly messy house

Recent Examples of embarrassing from the Web

By conventional standards, the remarks by Cohn and Tillerson were more embarrassing to the president than an unfilled rally venue.

— callum borchers, Washington Post, "Your regular reminder that Trump cares more about crowd size than almost anything else," 29 Aug. 2017
That scandal took on a more sinister tone in late 2014, when one of Kalanick’s top deputies, Emil Michael, suggested at a dinner with journalists that Uber might seek to publish embarrassing information about the personal lives of Uber critics.

— max chafkin, Bloomberg.com, "Uber Is Divided Into Two Factions. They’re Both Wrong," 14 Aug. 2017
After decades of embarrassing delays and rumors that the building may not even be structurally sound, could this be Kim Jong Un’s next pet project?

— eric talmadge, The Seattle Times, "Under ICBM’s red glare, Pyongyang pretties up its ‘pyramid’," 31 July 2017
Error loading player: No playable sources found The city of Dandong, in China’s northeastern Liaoning province, appears to be an embarrassing relic of the country’s economic past.

— bill powell, MSNBC Newsweek, "Will Trump Stop the 10 Chinese Companies Supplying North Korea's Nuclear Program?," 13 July 2017
A hickey, though unsightly and a little embarrassing, is simply a bruise and nothing to worry about long-term.

— caitlin fay, Cosmopolitan, "6 Surprising Ways to Get Rid of a Hickey," 12 July 2017
In first disclosing the embarrassing glitch last December, the Tribune noted that Superintendent Eddie Johnson had ordered an audit be done to try to figure out why the internal investigation of Poulos was never completed.

— jeremy gorner, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago police seek to fire sergeant for old allegations that fell through cracks," 7 July 2017
OAKLAND — The A’s managed to avoid a potentially-embarrassing situation against one of baseball’s most lethal strikeout pitchers.

— paul gackle, The Mercury News, "A’s reach a new low in loss to Nationals," 2 June 2017
Wednesday’s incident is just the latest embarrassing moment for the Mets.

— manny navarro, miamiherald, "Mr. Met only the latest sports mascot to behave badly," 1 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'embarrassing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.