Our Word for Wednesday theme for 2023 is tricky spelling words. This year, after sharing the definition and etymology of each week’s word, we will end every blog post with some tips and tricks to help you spell it. Last month we shared tips for spelling immediately, ceiling, decide, and disappoint. Our first tricky spelling word for May is embarrass. If you embarrass someone it means you make them feel self-conscious, uncomfortable, or ashamed. If you feel embarrassed it means you experience self-consciousness, awkwardness or shame. Here is embarrass used in some example sentences: She embarrassed her brother by telling ever...
abashed – feeling uneasy and self-conscious He looked abashed when I pointed out his mistake. ashamed – feeling shame, guilt, or remorse I am ashamed about the way I behaved. awkward – feeling out of place, uncomfortable or unsure The conversation made us feel awkward. blushing – physically turning red from embarrassment You are blushing. cringing – physically recoiling from embarrassment We were cringing when we heard the story. flustered – feeling confused or agitated from awkwardness or embarrassment I was flustered when the teacher asked me for the answer. humiliated...
Awkward was first recorded as meaning ‘clumsy’ in the 1520s, and by 1704 referred to someone or something known for his/her/its ‘lack of grace’. It wasn’t until 1788 that the word was used in reference to ‘social embarrassment’. The word has origins in the Old Norse ‘afugr’ meaning ‘turned the wrong way around’. ...
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