Embarrassment
[ɪm'bærəsmənt;em-] or [ɪm'bærəsmənt]
Definition
(noun.) some event that causes someone to be embarrassed; 'the outcome of the vote was an embarrassment for the liberals'.
(noun.) the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public.
(noun.) the state of being embarrassed (usually by some financial inadequacy); 'he is currently suffering financial embarrassments'.
Editor: Philip--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A state of being embarrassed; perplexity; impediment to freedom of action; entanglement; hindrance; confusion or discomposure of mind, as from not knowing what to do or to say; disconcertedness.
(n.) Difficulty or perplexity arising from the want of money to pay debts.
Checked by Jocelyn
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Perplexity, difficulty, entanglement.[2]. Trouble, distress, vexation, plague.[3]. Confusion, abashment.
Inputed by Donald
Unserious Contents or Definition
See Difficulty.
Editor: Peter
Examples
- In general she recoiled from touch or close approach with a mixture of embarrassment and coldness far from flattering to those who offered her aid. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Edward's embarrassment lasted some time, and it ended in an absence of mind still more settled. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- One does not blush to show modesty or embarrassment to others, but because the capillary circulation alters in response to stimuli. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Somewhat daunted by this reception, Jo hesitated on the threshold, murmuring in much embarrassment. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Mrs. Fisher continued to probe her embarrassment with an unflinching eye. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- He bowed rather awkwardly, and turning from her with a stranger's embarrassment, he met the doubtful light from the window. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- She paused with a slight falter of embarrassment, and Trenor, turning abruptly, fixed on her a look of growing intelligence. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- But don't suppose--oh, don't suppose--that the dreadful embarrassment of my situation was the uppermost idea in my mind! Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Richard saw his embarrassment. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- It was a most singular thing that the arrest was our embarrassment and not Mr. Skimpole's. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I caused him embarrassment enough as it was, I am sure. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- She said, with blushing embarrassment, Thank you: you are very kind. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The young man listened with considerable embarrassment. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- He said with some embarrassment, holding the handle of the door, Shall I have the honour of finding you here, miss? Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I grant that in the rigid political conditions prevailing to-day a new issue is an embarrassment, perhaps a hindrance to the procedure of political life. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- She evidently knows more of her husband's character and her husband's embarrassments than I have suspected up to this time. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Many difficulties and embarrassments have been encountered in the work. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Even at a hint about embarrassments, Sir Pitt Crawley was off and alarmed. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
Editor: Rudolf