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

That was followed by an embarrassing incident a little more than a year later in March 2020 when Gillum was found in a Miami Beach hotel room with two men, one of whom had a heart attack from what police believed to be a drug overdose. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026

After halftime, came an embarrassing nail in the coffin that silenced the Seattle sellout crowd for good — a 57th minute roll-in by Hans Vanaken after a slip-up by goalkeeper Matt Freese outside of the penalty area left the goal unguarded. — Becky Sullivan, NPR, 6 July 2026

Verb

Yet while employees face losing their jobs, ESPN has chosen to reinvest in Dennis, a character who has spent much of the past few years embarrassing the network. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2026

Lutnick's voluntary closed-door interview comes amid a monthslong procession of powerful people summoned before the committee, many of whom have been subjected to embarrassing revelations in the more than 3 million pages of records known as the Epstein files. — Graham Kates, CBS News, 6 May 2026