embarrassing

adjective

em·​bar·​rass·​ing im-ˈber-ə-siŋ 

-ˈba-rə-

: 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

embarrassingly

im-ˈber-ə-siŋ-lē 

-ˈba-rə-

adverb

an embarrassingly messy house

Synonyms of embarrassing

• uncomfortable
• awkward
• unpleasant
• difficult
• confusing
• disturbing

Examples of embarrassing in a Sentence

an embarrassing failure of memory inauspiciously marked my first appearance as an actor

Recent Examples on the Web

Google endured several embarrassing product debuts, when its Bard chatbot and then its successor Gemini models got facts wrong, recommended glue as a pizza topping, and generated images of historically anachronistic Black Nazis. —Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026

The whole experience somehow got even more embarrassing when a group of women at the restaurant approached him afterwards. —Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026

What lies ahead can’t possibly be worse, however, than the embarrassing false starts, the constant churn of organizational dysfunction and the thin, hopeless gruel that Vancouver has served up over the past decade. —Thomas Drance, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026

The category is an embarrassing thing to have in an awards show, but the sketch was fun. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1778, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for embarrassing

• polarising
• terracing