Word.ws English Dictionary

embarras

UK/ɒmbəˈɹɑː/

embarras noun: embarrassment; confusion, uncertainty.

Noun

embarras (countable and uncountable, plural embarras)

  1. (archaic) Embarrassment; confusion, uncertainty.
    • I […] envy & sympathise—being in all sorts of embarrass now, myself, over the finish of many things.1906, Henry James, letter, 17 November
  2. (archaic) An embarrassment; an obstacle or hindrance.
    • [O]ne day in his way to the opera, his chariot was stopped by an embarras in the street, occasioned by two peasants, who having driven their carts against each other, quarrelled, and went to loggerheads on the spot.1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC
  3. (archaic) Embarrassment; intense social awkwardness.
  4. (Canada, US, archaic, historical) A clump of driftwood obstructing a waterway.

Forms of embarras

pluralembarras

Origin of embarras

From French embarras.

Questions about embarras

What does embarras mean?
Embarras means embarrassment; confusion, uncertainty.
What part of speech is embarras?
Embarras is a noun.
How do you pronounce embarras?
Embarras is pronounced /ɒmbəˈɹɑː/ (UK).
What is the plural of embarras?
The plural of embarras is embarras.

Words near embarras in the dictionary

  1. embarks
  2. embarn
  3. embarned
  4. embarning
  5. embarns
  6. embarras
  7. embarrased
  8. embarrasing
  9. embarrass
  10. embarrassability
  11. embarrassable

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: embarras (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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