Which to use
“embarrass” is a verb and “embarrassed” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,898
- “embarrass” frequency rank
- #6,570
- “embarrassed” frequency rank
- 23468
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | embarrass | embarrassed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | to humiliate; to disrupt somebody's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely; to abash. | Having a feeling of shameful discomfort. |
Where the eye mixes embarrass and embarrassed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: embarrass vs embarrassed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: embarrass is /ɪmˈbæɹ.əs/ while embarrassed is /ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “embarrass” sits inside “embarrassed”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23468, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
embarrass is recorded at frequency rank #16,898, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈbæɹ.əs/. embarrassed is at rank #6,570, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 23468, this pair ranks #409,046 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of embarrass vs embarrassed
Shared letters: abemrs. Private to "embarrass": -. Private to "embarrassed": d.
"embarrass" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "embarrassed" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- embarrass ← ebmarrass · emabrrass · embararss · embarass · embarras · embarrsas · embbarrass · embrarass
- embarrassed ← ebmarrassed · emabrrassed · embararssed · embarassed · embarrased · embarrasesd · embarrassde · embarrassedd
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "embarrass" and "embarrassed" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "embarrass" vs "embarrassed" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "embarrass" and "embarrassed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "embarrass" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "embarrassed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #409,046 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #409,046 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.