shamefaced

[sheym-feyst]

adjective

1. modest or bashful.

2. showing shame.

   shamefaced apologies.

shamefaced

/ ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst, ʃeɪmˈfeɪsɪdlɪ, ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪstlɪ /

adjective

1. bashful or modest

2. showing a sense of shame

Other Word Forms

• shamefacedly adverb
• shamefacedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shamefaced¹

1545–55; alteration of shamefast by folk etymology; shame, faced

Word History and Origins

Origin of shamefaced¹

C16: alteration of earlier shamefast, from Old English sceamfaest; see _shame , _fast ¹

Example Sentences

When, inevitably, Hatchet escapes and begins offing his captors, the movie briefly jolts with shamefaced energy before settling into a tedious chase through a warren of gray concrete.

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The fallout, so far, has included shamefaced admissions and apologies from judges; a promise of improvement from the Administrative Office of the U.S.

Read more on Washington Post

To his credit, Wolff is astute and a little shamefaced when analysing the complicity between Trump and the journalists whom he officially reviles.

Read more on The Guardian

Most cases end amicably: shamefaced neighbours return the cat, everyone moves on.

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The Venezuelan government has called the new sanctions “the most shamefaced looting seen in the contemporary history of international relations.”

Read more on New York Times