imbarazzante
/im.ba.ratˈt͡san.te/
The Italian word for awkward is imbarazzante.
Meaning: lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction (adj)
Which one should you use?
There is an important distinction to make between the situation and the feeling: use imbarazzante to describe a situation that causes embarrassment, but use imbarazzato to describe a person who feels embarrassed.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective imbarazzante must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. It is imbarazzante for both masculine and feminine singular nouns, and imbarazzanti for both masculine and feminine plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has five syllables, with the stress on the fourth syllable: /im.ba.ratˈtsan.te/.
Did you know?
- The word imbarazzante shares a distant root with the English word 'barricade'.
- Italians may use the expression fare una figura to describe the act of making a social gaffe that leads to an imbarazzante result.
- While imbarazzante covers awkwardness, Italians often use the word goffo to describe someone who is physically awkward or clumsy.
Examples in context
- Quel video era imbarazzante.That video was awkward.This sentence is useful for describing an awkward video using imbarazzante.Tatoeba #12389796 by Guybrush88, translation #12389757 by Miktsoanit
- Questo è davvero imbarazzante.This is really awkward.This sentence is useful for emphasizing that something is truly awkward with imbarazzante.Tatoeba #3763886 by Guybrush88, translation #3732684 by CK
- Ha fatto una domanda imbarazzante.He asked an awkward question.This sentence is useful for describing an awkward question using imbarazzante.Tatoeba #4994574 by Guybrush88, translation #301970 by CK
- Mi sono trovato/a in un impiccioI found myself in an awkward situation
- Questa situazione è un po' stranaThis situation is a bit awkward
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Martina and Francesco are talking about a quiet party.
- MartinaIl silenzio tra di noi era imbarazzante.The silence between us was awkward.
- FrancescoSì, non sapevo proprio cosa dire.Yes, I really didn't know what to say.
- MartinaÈ stata una situazione molto imbarazzante.It was a very awkward situation.
- FrancescoSpero che non abbiano notato nulla.I hope they didn't notice anything.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry imbarazzante, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
