shamefaced

[sheym-feyst]

adjective

modest or bashful.

showing shame: shamefaced apologies.

Origin of shamefaced

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

Related formsshame·fac·ed·ly

[sheym-fey-sid-lee, sheym-feyst-lee] /ˌʃeɪmˈfeɪ sɪd li, ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst li/, adverbshame·fac·ed·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shamefacedly

Historical Examples of shamefacedly

He hesitated, then said shamefacedly, 'They don't want him to go.'
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad
He hitched his horse to the hook, shamefacedly, and entered the gallery.
Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. I (of II)
Edmund Downey
"Not good," said Alden, shamefacedly, digging at the soil with his heel.
Master of the Vineyard
Myrtle Reed
"I don't know what you'll think of me, boys," said he, shamefacedly.
Jim Spurling, Fisherman
Albert Walter Tolman
"I didn't know I could lose my temper like that," replied the other shamefacedly.
Left Guard Gilbert
Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for shamefacedly

shamefaced

adjective

bashful or modest

showing a sense of shame

Derived Formsshamefacedly (ʃeɪmˈfeɪsɪdlɪ, ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪstlɪ), adverbshamefacedness, noun

Word Origin for shamefaced

C16: alteration of earlier shamefast, from Old English sceamfaest; see shame, fast 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shamefacedly

shamefaced

adj.

"modest, bashful," 1550s, folk etymology alteration of shamefast, from Old English scamfæst "bashful," literally "restrained by shame," or else "firm in modesty," from shame (n.) + -fæst, adjectival suffix (see fast (adj.)). Related: Shamefacedly; shamefacedness.

shamefaced, -fast. It is true that the second is the original form, that -faced is due to a mistake, & that the notion attached to the word is necessarily affected in some slight degree by the change. But those who, in the flush of this discovery, would revert to -fast in ordinary use are rightly rewarded with the name of pedants .... [Fowler]