embarrass
em·bar·rass/ɪmˈbæɹəs/verb
embarrass is spelled E-M-B-A-R-R-A-S-S, 3 syllables: em·bar·rass. The wrong spelling people search most is embarass: about 460 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 3 in 10 of all searches for the word. Embarrass is a verb meaning “To disrupt someone's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely”.
How many letters and syllables are in embarrass?
| Letters | 9: E-M-B-A-R-R-A-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: em·bar·rass |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,896th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, embarass, about 460 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell embarrass?
Embarrass is spelled E-M-B-A-R-R-A-S-S. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 3 in 10 of the searches for embarrass in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is embarrass?
Embarrass appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce embarrass?
- US /ɪmˈbæɹəs/
- US /ɪmˈbɛɹəs/
- US /ɛm-/
Embarrass has 3 syllables, split em·bar·rass in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-embarrass.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of embarrass
- embarrasses present, singular, he/she/it
- embarrassing participle, present
- embarrassed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does embarrass mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To disrupt someone's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely.
The crowd's laughter and jeers embarrassed him.
- 2
To hinder from liberty of movement; to impede; to obstruct.
The motion was advanced in order to embarrass the progress of the bill.
- 3
To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to encumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands.
A man or his business is embarrassed when he cannot meet his pecuniary engagements.
- 4
To perplex mentally; confuse, disconcert; catch off guard.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Embarrass in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to humiliate:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | embarrasser, gêner |
| German | verlegen machen, demütigen, kränken |
| Portuguese | embaraçar |
| Spanish | avergonzar, abochornar, sonrojar, humillar, acholar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does embarrass come from?
Borrowed from French embarrasser, from Middle French embarrasser, embarasser (“to embarrass; to block, obstruct”), from Spanish embarazar, either from Italian imbarazzare or from Portuguese embaraçar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).