embarras

E1M3B3A1R1R1A1S1
UK/ɒmbəˈɹɑː/

noun

Embarrassment; confusion, uncertainty.

OriginFrench embarras →
First used 17th c.Scrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounembarras (countable and uncountable, plural embarras)
  1. archaiccountableuncountableEmbarrassment; confusion, uncertainty.First known use 17th c.

    I […] envy & sympathise—being in all sorts of embarrass now, myself, over the finish of many things.

    1906, Henry James, letter, 17 November
  2. archaiccountableuncountableAn embarrassment; an obstacle or hindrance.First known use 17th c.

    [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. archaiccountableuncountableEmbarrassment; intense social awkwardness.First known use 18th c.
  4. CanadaUSarchaiccountablehistoricaluncountableA clump of driftwood obstructing a waterway.First known use 19th c.

Origin

  1. Frenchembarras
  2. Englishembarras

From French embarras.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

embarras. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/embarras

MLA

“embarras.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/embarras. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “embarras,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/embarras.

Source: embarras on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.