Embarrassment is an unpleasant emotional state experienced upon having a socially or professionally unacceptable act or condition witnessed by or revealed to others. Usually some amount of loss of honour or dignity is involved, but how much and the type depends on the embarrassing situation. Emotional redirects here. ...

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. It has been suggested that the section Shame campaign from the article Smear campaign be merged into this article or section. ...

[edit] Causes

[edit] Personal embarrassment

Embarrassment can be personal, caused by unwanted attention to private matters or personal flaws or mishaps. Some causes of embarrassment stem from personal actions, such as being caught in a lie or in making a mistake, losing badly in a competition, being caught performing bodily functions such as flatulence or engaging in sex. In many cultures, being seen nude or inappropriately dressed is a particularly stressful form of embarrassment (see modesty). Flatulence (expelled through the anus in a process commonly known as farting or emitting gas) is the presence of a mixture of gases known as flatus in the digestive tract of mammals. ... This article is about sexual practices (i. ... The word nude may refer to: The state of nudity. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Personal embarrassment could also stem from the actions of others which place the embarrassed person in a socially awkward situation, such as having ones awkward baby pictures shown to friends, having someone make a derogatory comment about ones appearance or behavior, discovering one is the victim of gossip, being rejected by another person (see also humiliation), being made the focus of attention (e.g. birthday celebrants, newlyweds), or even witnessing someone else's embarrassment. Neighborly gossips in the Altstadt in Sindelfingen, Germany Gossip consists of casual or idle talk of any sort, usually slanderous and/or devoted to discussing others. ... Humiliation is literally the act of being made humble, or reduced in standing or prestige. ... A childs first birthday party. ...

Personal embarrassment is usually accompanied by some combination of blushing, sweating, nervousness, stammering, and fidgeting. Sometimes the embarrassed person will try to mask embarrassment with smiles or nervous laughter, especially in etiquette situations. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sweating (also called perspiration or sometimes transpiration) is the production and evaporation of a fluid, consisting primarily of water as well as a smaller amount of sodium chloride (the main constituent of table salt), that is excreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. ... Anxiety is a complex combination of the feeling of fear, apprehension and worry often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of breath. ... Stuttering is a speech disorder in which pronunciation of the (usually) first letter or syllable of a word is repeated involuntarily. ... Nervous laughter is used to describe laughter evoked from an audiences expression of embarrassment, alarm, or confusion, rather than amusement. ...

[edit] Professional embarrassment

Embarrassment can also be professional or official, especially after statements expressing confidence in a stated course of action, or willful disregard for evidence. Embarrassment increases greatly in instances involving official duties or workplace facilities, large amounts of money or materials, or loss of human life. Examples of causes of include a government's failed public policy, exposure of corrupt practices or unethical behavior, a celebrity whose personal habits receive public scrutiny or face legal action, or officials caught in serious personally embarrassing situations. Even small errors or miscalculations can lead to significantly greater official embarrassment if it is discovered that there was willful disregard for evidence or directives involved (see Space Shuttle Challenger). Space Shuttle Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was NASAs second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service. ...

Not all official failures result in official embarrassment, even if the circumstances lead to some slight personal embarrassment for the people involved. For example, losing a close political election might cause some personal embarrasssment for the candidate but generally would be considered an honorable loss in the profession and thus not necessarily lead to professional embarrassment. Similarly, a scientist might be personally disappointed and embarrassed if one of his hypotheses was proven wrong, but would not normally suffer professional embarrassment as a result. By contrast, exposure of falsified data supporting a scientific claim (see Hwang Woo-Suk) would likely lead to professional embarrassment in the scientific community. Hwang Woo-suk (황우석) (born 29 January 1953) is a South Korean biomedical scientist. ...

Professional or official embarrassment is often accompanied by public expressions of anger, denial of involvement, or attempts to minimize the consequences. Sometimes the embarrassed entity will issue press statements, remove or distance themselves from sub-level employees, attempt to carry on as if nothing happened, suffer income loss, emigrate, or completely vanish from public view.

[edit] Etymology

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 thy 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 substitution of r for rr in Ibero-Romantic languages was not a known occurrence. Samuel Pepys, FRS (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. ... Michel Eyquem de Montaigne-Delecroix (IPA pronunciation: []) (February 28, 1533–September 13, 1592) was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance. ... Embarazado (World Book «ehm bahr ah ZAH doh») (Spanish for pregnant) is a notorious false friend for non-native students of Spanish attempting to say Im embarrassed by saying estoy embarazado, which means Im pregnant in Spanish. ... Álvaro de Luna (between 1388 and 1390; June 2, 1453), Constable of Castile, Grand Master of the military order of Santiago, and favorite of King John II of Castile. ... In linguistics, a prefix is a type of affix that precedes the morphemes to which it can attach. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, spoken by ancient and modern Celts alike. ... This article is about a subdivision of the Romance language family. ...

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 Vulgar Latin, as in this political graffito at Pompeii, was the speech of ordinary people of the Roman Empire — different from the classical Latin used by the Roman elite. ...

[edit] See also

• Blushing
• modesty
• humiliation
• shame
• guilt
• lose face (often found in Asian cultures)

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Humiliation is literally the act of being made humble, or reduced in standing or prestige. ... It has been suggested that the section Shame campaign from the article Smear campaign be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Face refers to two separate but related concepts in Chinese social relations. ...

[edit] External link

• Bibliography of Embarrassment Research
• Collection of Funny Embarrassing Stories

[edit] References

1. "embarrass," 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].