Embarrass

 WORD OF THE DAY

embarrass / verb / im-BAIR-us

Definition
1a: to cause to experience a state of self-conscious distress
1b: to become anxiously self-conscious
1c: to place in doubt, perplexity, or difficulties
1d: to involve in financial difficulties
2a: to hamper the movement of
2b: hinder, impede
3a: to make intricate
3b: complicate
4: to impair the activity of (a bodily function) or the function of (a bodily part)

Examples

"The Eagles were embarrassed Sunday in a 31-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC Wild Card playoff game…."
— Mike Kaye, The South Jersey Times (New Jersey), 17 Jan. 2022

The Niners can’t expect the Packers to embarrass itself like the Cowboys, whose many miscues included seven pre-snap penalties.
— Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2022

Did You Know?
If you've ever been so embarrassed that you felt like you were caught up in a noose of shame, then you may have some insight into the origins of the word embarrass.
The word can be traced back through French and Spanish to the Portuguese word embaraçar, which was itself probably formed as a combination of the prefix em- (from Latin in-) and baraça, the Portuguese word for "noose."
Though embarrass has had various meanings related to acts that hinder or impede throughout its history in English, these days it most often implies making someone feel or look foolish.