embarrassing

1. 1.

   hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment

   “awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion”

   “an awkward pause followed his remark”

   “a sticky question”

   “in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign”

   Synonymsawkwardstickyunenviable

   Similardifficult
2. 2.

   causing to feel shame or chagrin or vexation

   “the embarrassing moment when she found her petticoat down around her ankles”

   “it was mortifying to know he had heard every word”

   Synonymsmortifying

   Similarunpleasant

Questions about embarrassing

What does embarrassing mean?

embarrassing means "hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in embarrassing?

embarrassing has 4 syllables: em-bar-ras-sing. The stress falls on "bar". In IPA it is /ɪmˈbɛɹəsɪŋ/.

What is another word for embarrassing?

Close synonyms include awkward, sticky, unenviable, mortifying. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is embarrassing a common word?

embarrassing is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.