embarrass

英 [?m'b?r?s; em-] 美[?m'b?r?s]

CET4TEM4IELTSGRE考研TOEFLCET6低頻詞核心詞匯

第三人稱單數:?embarrasses;過去式:?embarrassed;過去分詞:?embarrassed;現在分詞:?embarrassing;

1. 一個人用棍子打你的屁股.

embarrass 窘迫

em-, 進入，使。bar, 阻止。-ass, 大詞后綴，見largess.

embarrass: embarrass: [17] As in the case of embargo, the etymological meaning of embarrass is ‘put behind bars’. It comes ultimately from Italian imbarrare ‘surround with bars’, hence ‘impede’, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- ‘in’ and Vulgar Latin *barra ‘bar’ (source of English bar). From this was derived imbarazzare, which passed into English via Spanish embarazar and French embarrasser. Its original meaning ‘impede, hamper’ remains in use, chiefly in the context ‘financially embarrassed’, but has been overtaken in frequency by ‘disconcert’.
=> bar, barrier
embarrass (v.): 1670s, "perplex, throw into doubt," from French embarrasser (16c.), literally "to block," from Italian imbarrazzo, from imbarrare "to bar," from assimilated form of in- "into, upon" (see in- (2)) + Vulgar Latin *barra "bar" (see bar (n.1)).

Meaning "to hamper, hinder" is from 1680s. Meaning "make (someone) feel awkward" first recorded 1828. Original sense preserved in embarras de richesse (1751), from French (1726): the condition of having more wealth than one knows what to do with. Related: Embarrassed; embarrassing; embarrassingly.

4. He has decided that he doesn't want to embarrass the movement and will therefore step down.: 他已拿定主意：他不想令運動陷入困窘的境地，因此決心辭職。

5. The Republicans are trying to embarrass the president by thwarting his economic program.: 共和黨人企圖通過阻撓總統的經濟計劃使其難堪。