Synonyms of embarrassing

embarrassing 1 of 2

adjective

im-ˈber-ə-siŋ 

as in uncomfortable

causing embarrassment

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• uncomfortable
• awkward
• unpleasant
• difficult
• confusing
• disturbing
• disconcerting
• humiliating
• discomfiting
• impossible
• troublesome
• flustering
• inconvenient
• intolerable
• unwieldy
• disagreeable
• unsettling
• demeaning
• humbling
• degrading
• mortifying
• debasing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• convenient
• comfortable
• agreeable
• pleasing

embarrassing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of embarrass

1

as in confusing

to throw into a state of self-conscious distress

the modest young soldiers were embarrassed by the public praise for their heroism

Synonyms & Similar Words

• confusing
• mortifying
• disconcerting
• flustering
• rattling
• disturbing
• bothering
• upsetting
• discomfiting
• humiliating
• unsettling
• distressing
• confounding
• nonplussing
• discountenancing
• discomforting
• disquieting
• abashing
• perturbing
• fazing
• dismaying
• humbling
• shaming
• agitating
• degrading
• unhinging
• demeaning
• debasing
• putting off
• discomposing
• chagrining
• putting out
• queering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• relieving
• comforting
• soothing
• consoling
• encouraging
• calming
• cheering
• reassuring
• assuring
• emboldening
• heartening
• buoying

2

as in impeding

to create difficulty for the work or activity of

a lot of this paperwork is unnecessary and just embarrasses the organization

Synonyms & Similar Words

• impeding
• hampering
• hindering
• obstructing
• handicapping
• delaying
• inhibiting
• blocking
• cramping
• interfering (with)
• frustrating
• stymieing
• clogging
• encumbering
• disrupting
• hobbling
• restraining
• holding back
• tying up
• handcuffing
• constraining
• shackling
• fettering
• short-circuiting
• manacling
• stifling
• thwarting
• hog-tying
• baffling
• tying
• giving a hard time
• curbing
• cramping one's style
• balking
• checking
• binding
• trammeling
• reining
• choking
• braking
• holding up
• arresting
• retarding
• retaining
• strangling
• tethering
• bogging (down)
• sabotaging
• suffocating
• leashing
• roadblocking
• barricading
• confining
• derailing
• haltering
• chaining
• smothering
• blockading
• miring
• foiling
• stumping
• muzzling
• repressing
• suppressing
• hedging (in)
• hemming (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• helping
• assisting
• facilitating
• aiding
• opening
• clearing
• liberating
• freeing
• releasing
• encouraging
• promoting
• unstopping
• smoothing
• loosening
• making way
• unplugging
• unclogging
• furthering
• untying

3

as in complicating

to make complex or difficult

claims that the new government regulations will needlessly embarrass the operations of small businesses in the state

Synonyms & Similar Words

• complicating
• perplexing
• confusing
• intensifying
• complexing
• complexifying
• entangling
• sophisticating
• elaborating
• expanding
• developing
• muddling
• confounding
• snarling
• mixing (up)
• magnifying
• tangling
• messing (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• simplifying
• streamlining
• cutting
• shortening
• facilitating
• easing
• unraveling
• straightening (out)
• abbreviating
• disentangling
• untangling
• oversimplifying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of embarrassing

Adjective

One Marchand report contained several petty and embarrassing details about McAfee that clearly came from ESPN insiders. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026

And that’s why LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers is the single funniest outcome of this interminable and now embarrassing (for the Warriors) saga. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 24 July 2026

Verb

But combined with Disney‘s embarrassing The Mandalorian and Grogu influencer stunt that backfired, a movie’s first reactions on social media are increasingly being met with equal amounts of fan skepticism. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 26 June 2026

The moms aren’t embarrassing their kids. — Michelle Sobel, Fortune, 23 June 2026