“embarrass”是动词,意为“使尴尬;使窘迫;使难堪”。其用法较为灵活,可作及物动词和不及物动词,常用于描述人因某种情况而陷入尴尬的境地,可搭配多种介词和从句,在不同语境中有不同侧重点。
“embarrass”基本含义是“使尴尬;使窘迫;使难堪”,通常指因个人行为、处境或他人行为等而感到不自在、难为情。例如:
His clumsy behavior at the party embarrassed him.(他在聚会上的笨拙行为让他很尴尬。)
1、 作及物动词
直接接宾语:表示使某人尴尬。宾语通常是人。例如:
The news of his failure in the exam embarrassed his parents.(他考试不及格的消息让他父母很尴尬。)
接动名词作宾语:表示因做某事而感到尴尬。例如:
She embarrassed herself by telling a silly joke at the meeting.(她在会议上讲了个愚蠢的笑话,让自己很尴尬。)
接that引导的宾语从句:说明使某人尴尬的具体内容。例如:
It embarrassed me that I forgot her name.(我忘了她的名字,这让我很尴尬。)
2、 作不及物动词(较少见)
通常表示陷入尴尬的境地,可与介词“about”搭配,表示“对……感到尴尬”。例如:
He often embarrasses about his poor English.(他经常为自己的英语差而感到尴尬 。)
3、 常见搭配
be embarrassed by/at/with:表示因某事或某人而感到尴尬。例如:
I was embarrassed by his rude remarks.(他粗鲁的言论让我很尴尬。)
She felt embarrassed at the sudden silence.(突然的沉默让她感到很尴尬。)
We were all embarrassed with his strange behavior.(我们都因他奇怪的行为而感到尴尬。)
embarrass sb. into doing sth.:表示使某人处于尴尬境地而不得不做某事。例如:
The teacher embarrassed the student into admitting his mistake.(老师使那个学生陷入尴尬境地,不得不承认错误。)