embarras

See also: embarrás and Embarras

English

Etymology

From French embarras.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɒmbəˈɹɑː/

Noun

embarras (countable and uncountable, plural embarras) (now rare)

1. Embarrassment; confusion, uncertainty. [from 17th c.]
   • 1906, Henry James, letter, 17 November:

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

2. An embarrassment; an obstacle or hindrance. [from 17th c.]
   • 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

     [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.

3. Embarrassment; intense social awkwardness. [from 18th c.]
4. (historical, Canada, US) A clump of driftwood obstructing a waterway. [from 19th c.]

French

Etymology

Deverbal from embarrasser (“embarrass”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃.ba.ʁa/ ~ /ɑ̃.ba.ʁɑ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

embarras m (plural embarras)

1. embarrassment
2. obstacle, hindrance
3. lack of money

Antonyms

• débarras
• aisance
• désinvolture

Derived terms

• embarras du choix (“too many choices, an embarrassing wealth”)

References

• Nouveau Petit Larousse illustré. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1952, 146th edition

Further reading

• “embarras”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• ambreras, barrâmes, brameras

Spanish

Verb

embarras

1. second-person singular present indicative of embarrar