Embarrass

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To hamper or impede as with entanglements; encumber; render intricate or difficult; beset with difficulties; confuse or perplex, as conflicting circumstances, pecuniary complications, etc.: as, public affairs are embarrassed; want of order tends to embarrass business; the merchant is embarrassed by the unfavorable state of the market, or by his liabilities.
2. To perplex mentally; confuse the thoughts or perceptions of; discompose; disconcert; abash: as, an abrupt address may embarrass a young lady.
3. Synonyms To hinder, impede, obstruct, harass, distress, clog, hamper.
4. Embarrass, Puzzle, Perplex. To embarrass, literally, is to bar one's way, to impede one's progress in a particular direction, to hamper one's actions; hence, to make it difficult for one to know what is best to be done; also, to confuse or disconcert one so that one has not for a time one's usual judgment or presence of mind. To puzzle, literally, is to pose or give a hard question to, to put into a state of uncertainty where decision is difficult or impossible; it applies equally to opinion and to conduct. To perplex, literally, is to inclose, as in the meshes of a net, to entangle one's judgment so that one is at a loss what to think or how to act. Embarrass expresses most of uncomfortable feeling and mental confusion.
5. n. Embarrassment.
6. n. In the parts of the United States formerly French, a place where the navigation of a river or creek is rendered difficult by the accumulation of driftwood, trees, etc.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To hinder from freedom of thought, speech, or action by something which impedes or confuses mental action; to make (a person) unpleasantly self-conscious; to perplex; to discompose; to disconcert.
2. v. To hinder from liberty of movement; to impede; to obstruct
3. v. To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to incumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands; -- said of a person or his affairs.
4. n. Embarrassment.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious
2. v. hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of