INDEX:
1. words meaning embarrassed
2. to make someone feel embarrassed
3. the feeling you have when you are embarrassed
4. when your face goes red because you are embarrassed
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ ASHAMED
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1. words meaning embarrassed
▷ embarrassed /ɪmˈbærəst/ [adjective]
feeling uncomfortable or shy and worrying about what people think of you, for example because you have made a stupid mistake or because you have to talk about your feelings, about sex etc :
▪ Tony spilled red wine all over their carpet. He was so embarrassed!
▪ The teachers are supposed to teach us about ‘safe sex’, but most of them are too embarrassed.
get/feel embarrassed
▪ Kids get embarrassed if their Mums kiss them in front of their friends.
embarrassed about
▪ I got very drunk at the party, and I feel really embarrassed about it.
embarrassed by/at
▪ Marlon was always embarrassed by his lack of education.
acutely embarrassed
very embarrassed
▪ ‘I’m not sure if I actually want to marry her,’ Harry said, feeling acutely embarrassed.
▷ self-conscious /self ˈkɒnʃəsǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [adjective]
shy and embarrassed about your body, or about the way you look or talk :
feel self-conscious
▪ I always feel really self-conscious in a bikini.
self-conscious about
▪ Teenagers are often very self-conscious about their appearance.
self-consciously [adverb]
▪ He got up rather self-consciously and walked towards the stage.
▷ uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌmftəb ə l, -ˈkʌmfət-ǁ-ˈkʌmfərt-, -ˈkʌmft-/ [adjective]
feeling embarrassed because you cannot relax with the people around you :
▪ All this talk about love and romance was making me uncomfortable.
feel uncomfortable
▪ Jim always felt uncomfortable on such formal occasions.
▪ an uncomfortable silence
uncomfortably [adverb]
▪ Rhys shuffled his feet uncomfortably, trying to think of an excuse to leave.
▷ awkward /ˈɔːkwəʳd/ [adjective]
feeling so shy, nervous, and embarrassed that you cannot behave in a natural way :
feel awkward
▪ I didn’t know anyone at the party, and I felt really awkward at first.
an awkward moment/silence etc
when you or other people feel awkward
▪ For one awkward moment I thought I had said something terribly wrong.
▪ Carrie laughed out loud, and there was an awkward silence.
awkwardly [adverb]
▪ David felt too shy to say anything, and looked at them awkwardly.
awkwardness [uncountable noun]
▪ There was an awkwardness in her manner which made it difficult to talk to her.
▷ sheepish /ˈʃiːpɪʃ/ [adjective usually before noun]
looking or feeling a little embarrassed because you feel guilty about something :
▪ He gave her a sheepish look and said, ‘I’m very sorry, I forgot it was your birthday.’
look sheepish
▪ Debbie arrived late for work looking a bit sheepish.
sheepishly [adverb]
▪ ‘I only have one or two cigarettes now and then,’ he said sheepishly.
▷ mortified /ˈmɔːʳtɪfaɪd, ˈmɔːʳtəfaɪd/ [adjective not before noun]
very shocked, embarrassed, or ashamed because you realize that you have done something wrong, or because of something unpleasant that happens to you :
mortified by
▪ Deaver was mortified by his mistake and immediately admitted that he was wrong.
mortified at the thought of something
▪ Carla felt mortified at the thought of having to repeat another year at school.
mortified to find/see etc something
▪ I was mortified to find that everyone else was wearing evening dress.
▷ squirm /skwɜːʳm/ [intransitive verb]
to feel extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable because of something stupid that you did or said, or because of something that someone else does :
▪ Whenever I think back to what I said at the party it makes me want to squirm.
squirm with embarrassment
▪ The little boy squirmed with embarrassment when his mother told him off in front of his friends.
▷ I could have died/I almost died /aɪ ˌkʊd həv ˈdaɪd, aɪ ˌɔːlməʊst ˈdaɪd/ spoken
say this when you are telling someone about a time when you felt extremely embarrassed :
▪ When I realized that Sally had heard every word I said about her, I could have died.
▷ egg on your face /ˈeg ɒn jɔːʳ ˌfeɪs/
if someone, especially someone in authority has egg on their face, they have done something wrong or embarrassing in a way that makes them look stupid :
▪ Don’t underestimate this club or you’ll be left with egg on your face. I’ve got one of the best squads ever in the Premier League.
▪ The government ended up with egg on its face when it was found to have withheld documents for political purposes.
2. to make someone feel embarrassed
▷ embarrassing /ɪmˈbærəsɪŋ/ [adjective]
something that is embarrassing makes you feel embarrassed :
▪ It was so embarrassing - I couldn’t remember his name!
▪ The doctor asked me a lot of embarrassing questions about my sex life.
embarrassing to/for
▪ The revelations about the President’s university life were to prove deeply embarrassing to him.
▷ embarrass /ɪmˈbærəs/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel embarrassed :
▪ I hope I didn’t embarrass you in front of your friends.
▪ One woman was trying to embarrass me by asking me questions I couldn’t answer.
▷ cause embarrassment /ˌkɔːz ɪmˈbærəsmənt/ [verb phrase]
if a situation or an action causes embarrassment to someone, it makes them feel embarrassed in front of a lot of people :
▪ If you want I’ll leave - I don’t want to cause any embarrassment.
cause somebody embarrassment
▪ His wife’s frequent affairs with other men had caused him acute public embarrassment.
cause embarrassment to somebody
▪ The article was intended to cause the greatest possible embarrassment to the government.
▷ be an embarrassment /biː ən ɪmˈbærəsmənt/ [verb phrase]
if someone or something is an embarrassment to someone, they make them feel embarrassed or ashamed to be connected with them :
▪ Look at the way he’s dressed. It’s an embarrassment.
be an embarrassment to
▪ His heavy drinking was an embarrassment to his friends and family.
▷ excruciating /ɪkˈskruːʃieɪtɪŋ/ [adjective]
use this about something that makes you feel extremely embarrassed :
▪ The ambassador opened the gift in front of all his guests - and the box was empty! It was the most excruciating moment of my life.
▪ There followed an excruciating silence that lasted for at least a minute.
3. the feeling you have when you are embarrassed
▷ embarrassment /ɪmˈbærəsmənt/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling you have when you are embarrassed :
▪ He looked down at the floor in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
I almost/nearly died of embarrassment
spoken a humorous way of saying you felt very embarrassed about something
▪ She read my poem out to the whole class - I almost died of embarrassment.
4. when your face goes red because you are embarrassed
▷ blush/turn red also go red especially British /blʌʃ, ˌtɜːʳn ˈred, ˌgəʊ ˈred/ [transitive verb/verb phrase]
if you blush or turn red, your face becomes red because you are embarrassed :
▪ As soon as Mark came into the room, she blushed and looked away.
▪ David’s really shy - he always turns red when the teacher asks him a question.
go/turn as red as a beetroot
British become very red
▪ I can’t wait to see his face when you tell him - he’ll go as red as a beetroot.