An assault is embarrassing (8)
I believe the answer is:
abashing
'is embarrassing' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abashing that I've seen before include "Causing to feel self-conscious" , "disconcerting" , "embarrassing" , "humiliating" .)