shame

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A painful feeling of guilt or embarrassment about something you have done.

   When I realized I had hurt my friend, I felt deep shame.

2. 2
   noun

   Something that is disappointing or that you regret.

   It's a shame you can't come to the party.

3. 3
   verb

   To make someone feel guilty or embarrassed so that they act differently.

   They shamed me into apologizing.

4. 4
   noun

   A state of dishonour or disgrace.

   His crime brought shame on the whole family.

Common collocations

• deep shame Adjective + noun
• great shame Adjective + noun
• bring shame Verb + noun
• feel shame Verb + noun
• burning shame Adjective + noun
• public shame Adjective + noun

From Middle English schamen, from Old English sċamian, from Proto-West Germanic *skamēn, from Proto-Germanic *skamāną. Cognates *Dutch schamen (“to be ashamed”) *German schämen (“to be ashamed or embarrassed, bashful”) *Danish, Norwegian Bokmål skamme (“to be ashamed”) *Icelandic skamma (“to scold”) *Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌽 (skaman, “to be ashamed”).

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