What does embarrassing mean?
Word: Embarrassing
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Embarrassing means making you feel shy, uncomfortable or silly in front of other people.
How do you spell embarrassing?
Syllables: em - bar - rass - ing
Tricky part: The r after bar is doubled. Embarassing, with a single r, is the slip seen most often in tests.
Watch out for: embarassing, emberrassing
Memory tip: When your face turns really red, let those two r's remind you of the double r.
Embarrassing in a sentence
Example 1: It was embarrassing when my phone rang in the middle of the quiz.
Example 2: Calling my teacher 'Mum' by mistake was a little embarrassing.
Example 3: Dad told an embarrassing story about my first day at school in front of the whole family.
Fun Fact
Embarrass came into English from a French word meaning to block or get in the way; the sense of making someone feel awkward grew later.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
embarr_ss_ng
a) a, i
b) a, e
c) u, i
d) e, i
Show answer
a) a, i. An a sits between the double r and the double s, and the ending is ing.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
rsibnamgares
a) embracing
b) embarrassing
c) embarking
d) embossing
Show answer
b) embarrassing. The jumble has twelve letters, and every other option is shorter than that.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
embarrassing
a) generous
b) ordinary
c) awkward
d) cheerful
Show answer
c) awkward. An awkward moment is one that makes you wish you could hide.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) accommodate
b) occurence
c) necessary
d) embarrassing
Show answer
b) occurence. Occurrence needs two r's as well as two c's.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Most children would find it embarrassing to ____.
a) trip on stage in the school play
b) read a comic at home
c) win a prize for handwriting
d) share lunch with their friends
Show answer
a) trip on stage in the school play
2. Sunil's cheeks went pink after an embarrassing mistake. How did he probably feel?
a) hungry
b) proud
c) sleepy
d) self-conscious
Show answer
d) self-conscious
