Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Embarrassment"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Embarrassment \Em*bar"rass*ment\, n. [F. embarrassement.]
1. A state of being embarrassed; perplexity; impediment to
freedom of action; entanglement; hindrance; confusion or
discomposure of mind, as from not knowing what to do or to
say; disconcertedness.
The embarrassment which inexperienced minds have
often to express themselves upon paper. --W. Irving.
The embarrassments tom commerce growing out of the
late regulations. --Bancroft.
2. Difficulty or perplexity arising from the want of money to
pay debts.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
embarrassment
n 1: the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made
public
2: the state of being embarrassed (usually by some financial
inadequacy); "he is currently suffering financial
embarrassments"
3: some event that causes someone to be embarrassed; "the
outcome of the vote was an embarrassment for the liberals"
[ant: {disembarrassment}]
4: extreme excess; "an embarrassment of riches" [syn: {nimiety},
{overplus}, {plethora}, {superfluity}]
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