Definition of "embarras"

embarras

/ɒmbəˈɹɑː/

noun
plural embarras
1. (now rare) Embarrassment; confusion, uncertainty.
  Quotations
  I […] envy & sympathise—being in all sorts of embarrass now, myself, over the finish of many things.
  1906, Henry James, letter, 17 November
2. (now rare) An embarrassment; an obstacle or hindrance.
  Quotations
  [O]ne day in his way to the opera, his chariot was stopped by an embarras in the street, occasioned by two peasants, who having driven their carts against each other, quarrelled, and went to loggerheads on the spot.
  1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […]
3. (now rare) Embarrassment; intense social awkwardness.
4. (now rare, historical, Canada, US) Specifically, a clump of driftwood obstructing a waterway.