shame
Americannoun
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shame
plural
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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
-
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)
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shames,
present (3rd person singular)
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shamed,
past participle, past
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shaming
present participle
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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): 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
-
ignominy or disgrace
-
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
-
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:
"I say shame on you for not caring about other human beings," Long said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
That she’s speaking out about it puts one more crack in the lie that women who are raped should carry any shame.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
For a doomsayer, Mr. Marriott is good company, and it is a shame how many people wouldn’t dream of reading his eloquent, learned and admirably brief book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
So the idea was having Bernadette really be the mastermind of John’s upbringing as a way to provide a simultaneous salve for her husband’s shame about being afraid about losing out on the opportunity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
I wonder if they are even capable of feeling guilt or shame.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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
"What's happened is horrendous. It is a betrayal and it shames us all," one former UK Special Forces officer told Panorama.
From BBC ● May 12, 2025
I treat many adults who have severe eating disorders partly as a result of growing up in a society that overvalues thinness, promotes dieting for weight loss, and shames people who are overweight or obese.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2024
“That is a disgrace. It outrages and shames me deeply,” Scholz said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
It shames me now to know that I would eat it if it were alive today.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
I have spent ten years loving Lesbos as an inheritance, a thing I own from a distance, and the smoke on my screen has shamed that love into something more useful.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
“I had decided to allow no room in the universe for something which shamed and frightened me.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 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
I am shamed to admit it, but I remember nothing of the song.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Esther Van der Valk, part of prominent Dutch feminist group Dolle Mina, says it's also about sex positivity and reducing body shaming.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
And it would not catastrophize fetal harm, which lands as shaming rather than a warning.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
The thing about “Coat of Many Colors,” though, is that it doesn’t end with the narrator broadening her schoolmates’ minds or even with her shaming them for their cruelty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The shaming tends to fall into two categories: the ugly mouthful and the lonely eater.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
The Dothraki .would respect him more if he looked less a beggar, she hoped, and per-haps he would forgive her for shaming him that day in the grass.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
