Shame

/ʃeɪm/

Meaning & Definition

noun

A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.

She felt a deep sense of shame after realizing the impact of her words.

A loss of respect or honor.

Winning the award was a great honor, but losing it would bring him shame.

Something that is regrettable or unfortunate.

It's a shame that they couldn't join us for dinner.

verb

To cause a person to feel ashamed.

He was shamed into apologizing for his rude comments.

To drive out or dismiss bad behavior by instilling shame.

Parents often shame their children to encourage better behavior.

Middle English: from Old English 'sceamu', related to 'sciam', meaning 'to be ashamed'.

shame on you:

An expression of disapproval for someone's actions.

a shame to waste:

An expression indicating that something is regretful or unfortunate.

shamefaced:

Having a shameful appearance or demeanor.

Shame game

Playing the shame game only leads to more conflict.

Shame spiral

After one mistake, she fell into a shame spiral.

Sham on you

That's a sham on you—what were you thinking?