1. 
[syn: awkwardness, nuisance value]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
nuisance value
    n 1: the quality of an embarrassing situation; "he sensed the
         awkwardness of his proposal" [syn: awkwardness, nuisance
         value]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
42 Moby Thesaurus words for "nuisance value":
   arrest, arrestation, arrestment, blockage, blocking, check,
   clogging, closing up, closure, constriction, cramp, delay,
   detainment, detention, fixation, foot-dragging, hampering,
   hindering, hindrance, holdback, holdup, impediment, inhibition,
   interference, interruption, let, negativism, obstruction,
   obstructionism, occlusion, opposition, repression, resistance,
   restraint, restriction, retardation, retardment, setback, squeeze,
   stranglehold, stricture, suppression