shame
Americannoun
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the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another.
She was overcome with shame.
- Antonyms:
- self-respect, self-esteem, pride
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susceptibility to this feeling.
to be without shame.
-
disgrace; ignominy.
His actions brought shame upon his parents.
-
a fact or circumstance bringing disgrace or regret.
The bankruptcy of the business was a shame. It was a shame you couldn't come with us.
verb (used with object)
-
to cause to feel shame; make ashamed.
His cowardice shamed him.
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to publicly humiliate or shame for being or doing something specified (usually used in combination): dog-shaming pictures of canines chewing up shoes.
kids who've been fat-shamed and bullied;
dog-shaming pictures of canines chewing up shoes.
-
to drive, force, etc., through shame.
He shamed her into going.
-
to cover with ignominy or reproach; disgrace.
idioms
-
put to shame,
-
to cause to suffer shame or disgrace.
-
to outdo; surpass.
She played so well she put all the other tennis players to shame.
-
-
for shame! you should feel ashamed!.
What a thing to say to your mother! For shame!
noun
-
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of having done something dishonourable, unworthy, degrading, etc
-
capacity to feel such an emotion
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ignominy or disgrace
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a person or thing that causes this
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an occasion for regret, disappointment, etc
it's a shame you can't come with us
-
-
to disgrace
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to surpass totally
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interjection
verb
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to cause to feel shame
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to bring shame on; disgrace
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(often foll by into) to compel through a sense of shame
he shamed her into making an apology
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See name
Synonym Usage
Shame, embarrassment, mortification, humiliation, chagrin designate different kinds or degrees of painful feeling caused by injury to one's pride or self-respect. Shame is a painful feeling caused by the consciousness or exposure of unworthy or indecent conduct or circumstances: One feels shame at being caught in a lie. It is similar to guilt in the nature and origin of the feeling. Embarrassment usually refers to a feeling less painful than that of shame, one associated with less serious situations, often of a social nature: embarrassment over breaking a teacup at a party. Mortification is a more painful feeling, akin to shame but also more likely to arise from specifically social circumstances: his mortification at being singled out for rebuke. Humiliation is mortification at being humbled in the estimation of others: Being ignored gives one a sense of humiliation. Chagrin is humiliation mingled with vexation or anger: She felt chagrin at her failure to remember her promise.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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outshameverb (used with object)
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half-shamedadjective
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shamableadjective
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shameableadjective
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unshamableadjective
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unshameableadjective
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unshamedadjective
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shamablyadverb
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shameablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shamesimple
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shamessimple
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have shamedperfect
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has shamedperfect
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am shamingprogressive
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are shamingprogressive
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is shamingprogressive
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have been shamingperfect progressive
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has been shamingperfect progressive
Past
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shamedsimple
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had shamedperfect
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was shamingprogressive
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were shamingprogressive
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had been shamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shame
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English sc(i)amu; cognate with German Scham, Old Norse skǫmm; (verb) Middle English schamen, shamien “to be ashamed,” Old English sc(e)amian, derivative of the noun
Explanation
Shame is a painful feeling that's a mix of regret, self-hate, and dishonor. A good person would feel shame if they cheated on a test or did something mean to a friend. Feeling shame — or being ashamed — is one of the most miserable feelings of them all. When you feel shame, you feel like a bad person and regret what you did. If you're trying to make someone else feel bad by scolding them, you're shaming them. People also often say, "That's a shame," when something bad happens — meaning it's sad or a pity.
Vocabulary lists containing shame
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic statements."
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
And a woman who's lost a baby doesn't deal with just grief and trauma, but also shame and pity.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
In this collection of sketches, filled with guilt and shame, pride and love, Mr. Coppola finds the meaning he craves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
“She captures what it feels like to live next to pain and shame without ever looking directly at it,” Aviv writes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Nhamo wanted to tear out her hair with shame.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
The second pilot meets their passengers’ fear with hysteria, shrieking, outburst—that pilot shames their passengers, saying, “I can’t do my job because of YOU.”
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
“That is a disgrace. It outrages and shames me deeply,” Scholz said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
And, she shames her own mother for latching onto Desi customs.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2023
"We need to lead a campaign worldwide to fight against this virus that shames everyone in football."
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2023
The fact shames him, causes him to turn briefly away.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
And seeking a bit of help from commercial emulsifiers shouldn’t be shamed.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
Pratt, who played a heel on TV, isn’t easily shamed in his own right.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
On social media, fans shared the video and shamed the man for his behavior, with some looking to make his identity public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
"What happened today shamed the game north of the border."
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
“If I can’t read, country boy”—I know I shamed him—“you can’t neither.”
From "Finding Langston" by Lesa Cline-Ransome
The 18-year-old says the lunch shaming caused him to scout secluded places on his school’s outdoor campus to eat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Most of all, there is a lot of shame and shaming associated with people who go into debt or become overwhelmed by their bills.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026
They can also feel like time capsules to other dimensions; his 12-year-old daughter was scandalized by how normative bullying was after she read “Blubber,” Blume’s 1974 novel about tween mean girls and body shaming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
Lawson's "indulgence" came in stark contrast to what writer and superfan Jessica Burrell says would now be called "food shaming".
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
The artificiality of her parents’ relationship always seemed harder, more shaming, when she was here in Kano.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
