shame

[ sheym ]

/ ʃeɪm /

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See synonyms for: shame / shamed / shaming on Thesaurus.com

noun

the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another: She was overcome with shame.

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), shamed, sham·ing.

to cause to feel shame; make ashamed: His cowardice shamed him.

to publicly humiliate or shame for being or doing something specified (usually used in combination): 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR shame

5 humiliate, mortify, humble, abash, embarrass.

See synonyms for shame on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR shame

1 pride, self-esteem, self-respect.

See antonyms for shame on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about shame

for shame! you should feel ashamed!: What a thing to say to your mother! For shame!

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.

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

synonym study for shame

1. 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 WORDS FROM shame

sham·a·ble, shame·a·ble, adjectivesham·a·bly, shame·a·bly, adverbhalf-shamed, adjectiveoutshame, verb (used with object), out·shamed, out·sham·ing.

un·sham·a·ble, adjectiveun·shame·a·ble, adjectiveun·shamed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shame in a sentence

Class disparity was chasmic, inflation had reached a point of inanity and the country seemed to hang its head in shame.
Almost anarchy: The Style Council and the smooth sounds of sophisti-pop|Mina Tavakoli|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
“This whole enterprise operated under such a shadow of stigma and shame back then,” he said.
Woman sues after learning ‘anonymous’ sperm donor was her own fertility doctor|Rachel Weiner|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
In personal conversation, we should not blame, or guilt, or shame—but ask questions without assuming what the other person will answer.
How Christians should react to the 2020 election results|jakemeth|November 12, 2020|Fortune
One of the big challenges to overcome is this feeling of guilt and shame that’s attached to the status of being food insecure.
‘What we’ve seen since covid has been a precipitous increase in need,’ says Feeding America CEO|KK Ottesen|November 10, 2020|Washington Post

There’s no shame in getting tips, but you should be able to figure puzzles out this early in a game.
‘Bugsnax’ is charming and funny, but sapped by vexing gameplay|Harold Goldberg|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
Question their actions or motives and you are “victim shaming” and “victim blaming.”
What the U-VA Rape Case Tells Us About a Victim Culture Gone Mad|Lizzie Crocker|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nothing says class like a middle-aged woman shaming two teenaged girls on social media for not being Stepford Children!
GOP Flack Throws Shade at First Teens|Olivia Nuzzi|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The stigma of sexual assault runs deep in Syrian culture as it does across the Middle East; rape is shaming and casts dishonor.
Escaping Assad’s Rape Prisons: A Survivor Tells Her Story|Jamie Dettmer|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And so the shaming of them, the public taking them down a peg or two, become moments to savor.
Why Does Everyone Hate Lea Michele?|Tim Teeman|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But can women like Ramadei succeed in using Internet shaming for more pointed acts of political good against male misbehavior?
Online Shaming Gives Creeps the Spotlight They Deserve|Samantha Allen|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Oh, back of all this shaming hurt with Lawson and George Sutton was another shame, that went deeper and deeper still.
The Wayfarers|Mary Stewart Cutting
A wise monitor was Hua Manu, shaming me to silence in our cursed banishment.
Summer Cruising in the South Seas|Charles Warren Stoddard
"There's such a thing as shaming people out of injustice," continued Mr. Daw.
Trevlyn Hold|Mrs. Henry Wood
Nothing made him so mad as to suspect any body of flatterin him, or shaming in any way.
Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville Militia|Seba Smith
But there it stood again, transporting and shaming and refusing to be silenced by prayers or reproach.
The Song of Songs|Hermann Sudermann

British Dictionary definitions for shame

shame

/ (ʃeɪm) /

noun

a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of having done something dishonourable, unworthy, degrading, etc

capacity to feel such an emotion

ignominy or disgrace

a person or thing that causes this

an occasion for regret, disappointment, etcit's a shame you can't come with us

put to shame

to disgrace
to surpass totally

interjection

Southern African informal

an expression of sympathy
an expression of pleasure or endearment

verb (tr)

to cause to feel shame

to bring shame on; disgrace

(often foll by into) to compel through a sense of shamehe shamed her into making an apology

name and shame See name (def. 17)

Derived forms of shame

shamable or shameable, adjective

Word Origin for shame

Old English scamu; related to Old Norse skömm, Old High German skama

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with shame

shame

In addition to the idiom beginning with shame

shame on you

also see:

crying shame
for shame
put to shame

shame

OTHER WORDS FOR shame

OPPOSITES FOR shame

Idioms about shame

Origin of shame

synonym study for shame

OTHER WORDS FROM shame

Words related to shame

How to use shame in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shame

Derived forms of shame

Word Origin for shame

Other Idioms and Phrases with shame