To embarrass someone means to make them feel self-conscious, awkward, or ashamed in front of others. When you're embarrassed, you might feel your face get hot and turn red, wish you could disappear, or struggle to find words.

Everyone gets embarrassed sometimes. You might feel embarrassed if you trip in the cafeteria while carrying your lunch tray, if you raise your hand to answer a question and get it completely wrong, or if your parent shows your baby pictures to your friends. The feeling comes from suddenly worrying what others think of you.

People can embarrass themselves by accident, like wearing mismatched shoes to school without noticing. But someone can also embarrass you on purpose, like a sibling who tells a humiliating story about you at a family dinner. When this happens deliberately and repeatedly, it crosses the line into being mean.

The noun form is embarrassment: “I felt such embarrassment when I called my teacher 'Mom.'” Something that causes this feeling is embarrassing. While embarrassment feels terrible in the moment, most embarrassing situations seem less important after time passes. That moment when you forgot your lines in the school play might feel mortifying today, but chances are you'll barely remember it next year.