How to spell embarrass

hear item·bar·rass/ɛm'bærəs/verbPrefixes and work

What it means: Cause to feel self-conscious or hinder progress.

In a sentence: I felt a bit embarrass when my hat flew off in the wind.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double r and double s, and an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as embarass or embarras.

Same family: embarrassed, embarrassing, embarrassment, shame, humiliate. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Embarrass” comes from French and originally from a Spanish word meaning “to block” or “to hinder.” Over time, the meaning shifted from being physically blocked to feeling mentally or socially awkward and self-conscious.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

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