| Library / English Dictionary |
EMBARRASSED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Made to feel uncomfortable because of shame or wounded pride
Example:
felt mortified by the comparison with her sister
Synonyms:
embarrassed; humiliated; mortified
Classified under:
Similar:
ashamed (feeling shame or guilt or embarrassment or remorse)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Feeling or caused to feel ill at ease or self-conscious or ashamed
Example:
was embarrassed by her child's tantrums
Synonyms:
abashed; chagrined; embarrassed
Classified under:
Similar:
discomposed (having your composure disturbed)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Past simple / past participle of the verb embarrass
Context examples:
Ikeega was proud and embarrassed by turns, but Keesh was quite composed.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
She had never had men look at her in such fashion, and it embarrassed her.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
He was obviously embarrassed for an instant, while the Inspector raised his eyebrows, and Alec Cunningham burst into a laugh.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Sherlock Holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
"But why, dear Madam Mina? You know that your safety is our solemnest duty. We go into danger, to which you are, or may be, more liable than any of us from—from circumstances—things that have been." He paused, embarrassed.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Johnson looked puzzled and embarrassed.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Even THEN, however, when fully determined on paying my addresses to her, I allowed myself most improperly to put off, from day to day, the moment of doing it, from an unwillingness to enter into an engagement while my circumstances were so greatly embarrassed.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
He looked rather embarrassed.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
I was so embarrassed by the abruptness of his manner that I could but stammer out that I hoped I should do my duty, on which his stern mouth relaxed into a good-humoured smile, and he laid his little brown hand for an instant upon my shoulder.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
