embarrassingly en · ADV
Pronunciation
- /ɪmˈbæɹəsɪŋli/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɛm-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /əmˈbɛɹəsɪŋli/ (General-American)
- /ɛm-/ (General-American)
- (US) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree English embarrassing Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English embarrassingly From embarrassing + -ly.
Meanings
-
In an embarrassing manner.
He stumbled embarrassingly about the dance floor.
-
To the point of embarrassment; to an extreme or bewildering degree.
He was presented with an embarrassingly long list of options.
This is the first Christmas, her mother reports, that Shirley Temple has been sure there isn’t a real Santa Claus. Last season she was embarrassingly curious about the numerous Messrs. Claus she saw on the streets and in department stores.
1938 December 20, Paul Harrison, “Harrison in Hollywood: The Movie Folk Will Leave Town Come Christmas Week-End, and All”, in The Harlan Daily Enterprise, volume 37, number 300, Harlan, Ky., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6, column 8:He soon became not merely tipsy, but embarrassingly drunk.
-
Causing embarrassment.
Embarrassingly to me, my companion soon got drunk.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more embarrassingly | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most embarrassingly | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |