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EMBARRASSMENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Extreme excess
Example:
an embarrassment of riches
Synonyms:
embarrassment; overplus; plethora; superfluity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("embarrassment" is a kind of...):
excess; excessiveness; inordinateness (immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or permitted limits)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "embarrassment"):
redundance; redundancy (the attribute of being superfluous and unneeded)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Some event that causes someone to be embarrassed
Example:
the outcome of the vote was an embarrassment for the liberals
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("embarrassment" is a kind of...):
trouble (an event causing distress or pain)
Antonym:
disembarrassment (something that extricates you from embarrassment)
Derivation:
embarrass (cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("embarrassment" is a kind of...):
shame (a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "embarrassment"):
self-consciousness; uncomfortableness; uneasiness (embarrassment deriving from the feeling that others are critically aware of you)
shamefacedness; sheepishness (feeling embarrassed about yourself)
chagrin; humiliation; mortification (strong feelings of embarrassment)
confusion; discombobulation (a feeling of embarrassment that leaves you confused)
abashment; bashfulness (feeling embarrassed due to modesty)
discomfiture; discomposure; disconcertion; disconcertment (anxious embarrassment)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The state of being embarrassed (usually by some financial inadequacy)
Example:
he is currently suffering financial embarrassments
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("embarrassment" is a kind of...):
emotional state; spirit (the state of a person's emotions (especially with regard to pleasure or dejection))
Context examples:
She had instinctively turned away; but stopping on his approach, received his compliments with an embarrassment impossible to be overcome.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
The Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OAB-q Short Form) Caused you embarrassment?
(OAB-q Short Form - Caused You Embarrassment, NCI Thesaurus)
He paused abruptly and flushed to his hair, but the bowman was too busy with his own thoughts to notice his young companion's embarrassment.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A feeling of freedom from constraint or embarrassment.
(Ease, NCI Thesaurus)
“I'm Ben Gunn, I am,” replied the maroon, wriggling like an eel in his embarrassment.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
It is not an avocation of a remunerative description—in other words, it does not pay—and some temporary embarrassments of a pecuniary nature have been the consequence.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
But you are not aware of the consequences; it will involve you in a very cruel embarrassment, and certainly bring on a disagreement between us.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
He was all confusion and embarrassment on the instant, the blood flushing red on his neck and brow.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
A question about whether an individual has or had embarrassment due to problems with their teeth, denture or mouth.
(Have Embarrassment due to Problem with Teeth, Denture or Mouth, NCI Thesaurus)
A feeling of freedom from constraint or embarrassment; feeling relaxed and natural.
(Comfort, NCI Thesaurus)
