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 hampering

to create difficulty for the work or activity of

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

A lot better after Saturday Oklahoma State suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of Week 1 when it face-planted against Tulsa. — Antonio Morales, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots want everyone to forget that the coach and the franchise by extension were tied to an embarrassing scandal when the Dianna Russini story surfaced in April. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Verb

College students should not have to worry about their parents embarrassing them to an audience of thousands. — Mary Frances Ruskell, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

Many of the voters of the other political parties have been lending him their support, partly in the hope of embarrassing Farage. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026