em ‧ bar ‧ rass /ɪmˈbærəs/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ embarrassed , ↑ embarrassing ; verb : ↑ embarrass ; noun : ↑ embarrassment ; adverb : ↑ embarrassingly ]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: embarrasser , from Spanish embarazar , perhaps from Vulgar Latin barra 'bar' ]
1 . to make someone feel ashamed, nervous, or uncomfortable, especially in front of other people:
He didn’t want to embarrass her by asking questions.
2 . to do something that causes problems for a government, political organization, or politician, and makes them look bad:
The revelations in the press have embarrassed the government.