different between embarrassment vs scandal

English

Etymology

From embarrass +? -ment

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?bæ??sm?nt/

Noun

embarrassment (countable and uncountable, plural embarrassments)

1. A state of discomfort arising from bashfulness or consciousness of having violated a social rule; humiliation.
2. A person or thing which is the cause of humiliation to another.

   Kevin, you are an embarrassment to this family.

   Losing this highly publicized case was an embarrassment to the firm.
3. A large collection of good or valuable things, especially one that exceeds requirements.
   • 1914, Collier's, page 30

     There are over 5,000 Americans now in Paris, many artists, singers, musicians, writers, and actors, so many, indeed, the committee could hardly pick a program from an embarrassment of volunteers.

   • 1996, David Morgan Evans, Peter Salway, David Thackray, The Remains of Distant Times: Archaeology and the National Trust, Boydell & Brewer ?ISBN, page 188

     The landscape presented an embarrassment of riches for the industrial archaeologist, and eighteenth- and nineteenth-century remains were still visible in abundance

   • 2013, Frank Boccia, The Crouching Beast: A United States Army Lieutenant's Account of the Battle for Hamburger Hill, May 1969, McFarland ?ISBN, page 256

     At one time, I reflected, we'd had an embarrassment of good, qualified squad leader—ready men in the platoon.

4. A state of confusion; hesitation; uncertainty
5. (medicine) Impairment of function due to disease: respiratory embarrassment.
6. (dated) Difficulty in financial matters; poverty.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• embarrassment in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• embarrassment in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

From Middle French scandale (“indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech”), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“that on which one trips, cause of offense”, literally “stumbling block”), from Ancient Greek ????????? (skándalon, “a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling”), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to jump”). Cognate with Latin scand? (“to climb”). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing. Doublet, via Old French esclandre, of slander.

Sense evolution from "cause of stumbling, that which causes one to sin, stumbling block" to "discredit to reputation, that which brings shame, thing of disgrace" is possibly due to early influence from other similar sounding words for infamy and disgrace (compare Old English scand (“ignominity, scandal, disgraceful thing”), Old High German scanda (“ignominy, disgrace”), Gothic ???????????????????????? (skanda, “shame, disgrace”)). See shand, shend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?skænd?l/
• Rhymes: -ænd?l

Noun

scandal (countable and uncountable, plural scandals)

1. An incident or event that disgraces or damages the reputation of the persons or organization involved.
   • 1990, House of Cards, Season 1, Episode 1:

     Well, yes, a couple of leaks are all very well, but it takes more than that... A big scandal perhaps. A political scandal. Or a scandal about something people really understand: Sex... or money.
2. Damage to one's reputation.
3. Widespread moral outrage, indignation, as over an offence to decency.

4. (theology) Religious discredit; an act or behaviour which brings a religion into discredit.
5. (theology) Something which hinders acceptance of religious ideas or behaviour; a stumbling-block or offense.
6. Defamatory talk; gossip, slander.
   • 1855, Anthony Trollope, The Warden, chapter 1

     Scandal at Barchester affirmed that had it not been for the beauty of his daughter, Mr. Harding would have remained a minor canon; but here probably Scandal lied, as she so often does; for even as a minor canon no one had been more popular among his reverend brethren in the close, than Mr. Harding; and Scandal, before she had reprobated Mr. Harding for being made precentor by his friend the bishop, had loudly blamed the bishop for having so long omitted to do something for his friend Mr. Harding.

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Korean: ??? (seukaendeul)

Translations

Verb

scandal (third-person singular simple present scandals, present participle scandalling or scandaling, simple past and past participle scandalled or scandaled)

1. (obsolete) To treat opprobriously; to defame; to slander.
2. (obsolete) To scandalize; to offend.
   • 1855, Robert Potts, Liber Cantabrigiensis

     A propensity to scandal may partly proceed from an inability to distinguish the proper objects of censure

Romanian

Etymology

From French scandale, from Latin scandalum.

Noun

scandal n (plural scandaluri)

1. scandal

Declension