This article is about an emotional state. For a song by Madness see Embarrassment (song).

Embarrassment is an unpleasant emotional state experienced upon having a socially or professionally unacceptable act or condition witnessed by or revealed to others.

It is similar to shame, except that shame may be experienced for an act known only to oneself. Also, embarrassment usually carries the connotation of being caused by an act that is merely socially unacceptable, rather than morally wrong.

Embarassment can be personal. Examples of causes of include:

• showing childhood photos to other people
• losing in a competition or a bet; demonstrating/revealing incompetence to others
• socially awkward behavior
• making unwarranted or incorrect assumptions about others
• being mistaken or making a mistake
• The perception of having abnormal, ugly, or unusually-sized genitalia
• accidents (tripping, spilling liquids, etc.)
• being seen urinating, defecating, masturbating, having sex, or otherwise performing a private action
• flatulence
• misbehaving due to alcohol or other drugs
• damaging or soiling an article of clothing
• picking ones nose
• being seen nude or inappropriately dressed. A person who is embarrassed in this situation is said to be petonic.It is believed that this is the worst type of embarrassment.See naked embarrassment
• being seen viewing pornographic material
• being seen in a sexually aroused state (such as with an erection in males)
• discussing sexual matters
• being overweight
• body odor
• having one's undergarments visible
• medical conditions (vomiting, fainting, suffering a medical emergency)
• having private information revealed (such as being the subject of gossip)
• mistaking one person for another
• accompanying or being associated with someone who is behaving in an embarrassing way
• witnessing someone else's embarrassment (empathetic embarrassment)
• being made the focus of attention (e.g. birthday celebrants, newlyweds)
• receiving or giving misdirected or excessive praise or compliments
• being insulted (and being unable to retort effectively)
• being rejected by another person (see also humiliation)
• being the subject of a practical joke multiple people witness
• accidentally responding to a greeting or question intended for someone else

Personal embarrassment is often accompanied by blushing, nervousness, stammering, and fidgeting. Sometimes the embarassed person will try to mask embarassment with smiles or laughter, especially in etiquette situations.

Embarassment can be professional or official, especially after statements expressing confidence in a stated course of action. Embarassment is considerably greater in instances involving large amounts of money or materials, or loss of human lives. Examples of causes of include:

• a government's failed public policy (see Great Leap Forward)
• being proven wrong, for example in scientific research
• inappropriate email messages discovered and revealed for legal or public scrutiny
• media exposure of corrupt practices (see Enron scandal)
• employees or lower-level officials releasing information about senior management (see Watergate scandal)
• small errors or miscalculations with widespread, expensive, or deadly consequences (see Space Shuttle Challenger)
• defeat in a court of law or election (or a person to office, or a referendum)

Professional or official embarrassment is often accompanied by anger, denial of involvement, or attempts to minimize the consequences. Sometimes the embarrassed entity will issue press statements, fire (sack) sub-level employees, or attempt to carry on as if nothing happened.

The English word embarrassed has taken an unusual path into English. The first written usage of embarrass in English was in 1664 by Samuel Pepys in his diary. The word was derived from the French word embarrasser, "to block," or "obstruct",¹ whose first recorded usage was by Michel de Montaigne in 1580. The French word was derived from the Spanish embarazar, whose first recorded usage was in 1460 in Cancionero de Stúñiga (Songbook of Stúñiga) by Álvaro de Luna.² The Spanish word comes from the Portuguese embaraçar, which is a combination of the prefix em- (from Latin im- for "in-") with baraço or baraça, "a noose", or "rope".³ Baraça originated before the Romans began their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC.⁴ Thus, baraça could be related to the Celtic word barr, "tuft." (Celtic people actually settled much of Spain and Portugal beginning in the 700s BC, the second group of people to do so.)⁵ However, it certainly is not directly derived from it, as the subsitution of r for rr in Ibero-Romantic languages was not a known occurrence.

Some say the Spanish word actually came from the Italian imbarazzare, from imbarazzo, "obstacle" or "obstruction." That word came from imbarrare, "to block," or "bar," which is a combination of in-, "in" with barra, "bar" (from the Vulgar Latin barra, which is of unknown origin).⁶ The problem with this theory is that the first known usage of the word in Italian was by Bernardo Davanzati (1529-1606), long after the word had entered Spanish.⁷

• modesty
• humiliation
• shame
• guilt
• naked embarrassment

• Bibliography of Embarrassment Research

1. "embarras," The Oxford English Dictionary, (1989) <http://dictionary.oed.com> [Accessed February 15, 2006].
2. Joan Corominas and José Pacual, "embarazar," Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, (Gredos, 1980) Vol. II, p. 555-556.
3. "embarrass," Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (2002) <http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com> [Accessed February 15, 2006].
4. Corominas, "embarazar."
5. "Iberian," Encyclopaedia Britannica, <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9041884> [Accessed February 15, 2006].
6. Corominas, "embarazar."
7. "embarrass," The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, (2000) <http://www.bartleby.com/61/12/E0101200.html> [Accessed February 15, 2006].