1
a
: a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety
b
: the susceptibility to such emotion
have you no shame?
2
: a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute : ignominy
the shame of being arrested
3
a
: something that brings censure or reproach
b
: a cause of feeling shame
shamed; shaming
1
: to bring shame to : disgrace
shamed the family name
2
: to put to shame by outdoing
3
: to cause to feel shame
4
: to force by causing to feel guilty
shamed into confessing
Synonyms
Examples of shame in a Sentence
Noun
He felt shame for his lies.
How could you be so rude? Have you no shame?
Her crimes brought shame upon her family.
He had to endure the shame of being fired.
Verb
He was shamed by his behavior at the party.
shamed the family name with his conviction for embezzlement
Recent Examples on the Web
Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024
That’s a shame, because installing it this way required us to remove the front-panel radiator bracket.
—PCMAG, 21 Apr. 2024
And if your husband treats the egg donation like a taboo subject, not to be spoken of outside the family, a result could be that your child feels some shame about it, too.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
So thick and broad and unlike the other girls while simultaneously being enough like a woman’s that there was no hiding it; so much body hair; so much exhaustion and shame.
—S. Bear Bergman, SELF, 16 Apr. 2024
The shame of modern science is that everyone is hyperfocused on their system, their approach, their organism, their discipline.
—Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
Prostate cancer can sometimes cause erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, according to the Mayo Clinic, causing deep shame for some men.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The shame and disgrace that this implies cannot be expunged.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Overall, obesity has been so stigmatized that, along with the stigma, it has been considered a taboo topic to discuss – because discussing it often highlights the pain and shame that some people with obesity internalize.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Seat width: At its largest, the seat runs 38 inches wide, which shames many first-class products.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Lizzo's Instagram statement comes amid two lawsuits In August, Lizzo was sued for allegedly pressuring and weight shaming her former dancers.
—Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Directed by Gus van Sant, languorous, malicious meals unspool at La Côte Basque, the midtown society lunch spot, gloves are sought at Saks (they are shamed for being behind the times and told to–gasp–try Lord & Taylor).
—Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024
Domestic challengers like Ford, Mopar, and AMC have been publicly shamed in competition, official and unofficial.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024
Roker — who had gastric bypass surgery in 2002 and has been vocal about his weight loss journey — said people shouldn’t shame how others approach their health.
—Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024
They are shamed for speaking Spanish by non-Latinos and shamed for not speaking Spanish by Latinos.
—Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 18 Mar. 2024
Some of the world’s biggest retail brands have been shamed for taking months to pay smaller suppliers.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 12 Mar. 2024
Noun
For parents like Thompson, the Facebook group has brought about something of a moment of personal reckoning, particularly after speaking with female alumni from the group who had been made uncomfortable by Big John or the general environment of shame and bullying at the school.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024
That’s a shame, because installing it this way required us to remove the front-panel radiator bracket.
—PCMAG, 21 Apr. 2024
And if your husband treats the egg donation like a taboo subject, not to be spoken of outside the family, a result could be that your child feels some shame about it, too.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
So thick and broad and unlike the other girls while simultaneously being enough like a woman’s that there was no hiding it; so much body hair; so much exhaustion and shame.
—S. Bear Bergman, SELF, 16 Apr. 2024
The shame of modern science is that everyone is hyperfocused on their system, their approach, their organism, their discipline.
—Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
Prostate cancer can sometimes cause erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, according to the Mayo Clinic, causing deep shame for some men.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The shame and disgrace that this implies cannot be expunged.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Overall, obesity has been so stigmatized that, along with the stigma, it has been considered a taboo topic to discuss – because discussing it often highlights the pain and shame that some people with obesity internalize.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
Verb
Those who collected the least were shamed in front of their team.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Seat width: At its largest, the seat runs 38 inches wide, which shames many first-class products.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Lizzo's Instagram statement comes amid two lawsuits In August, Lizzo was sued for allegedly pressuring and weight shaming her former dancers.
—Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Directed by Gus van Sant, languorous, malicious meals unspool at La Côte Basque, the midtown society lunch spot, gloves are sought at Saks (they are shamed for being behind the times and told to–gasp–try Lord & Taylor).
—Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024
Domestic challengers like Ford, Mopar, and AMC have been publicly shamed in competition, official and unofficial.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024
Roker — who had gastric bypass surgery in 2002 and has been vocal about his weight loss journey — said people shouldn’t shame how others approach their health.
—Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024
They are shamed for speaking Spanish by non-Latinos and shamed for not speaking Spanish by Latinos.
—Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 18 Mar. 2024
Some of the world’s biggest retail brands have been shamed for taking months to pay smaller suppliers.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shame.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shame
Cite this Entry
“Shame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shame. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shame
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a painful emotion caused by having done something wrong or improper
b
: ability to feel shame
have you no shame?
3
: something that brings disgrace or causes shame or strong regret
4
: something to be regretted : pity
it's a shame you'll miss the show
shame
2 of 2 verb
shamed; shaming
1
: to bring shame to : disgrace
2
: to cause to feel shame
3
: to force by causing to feel guilty
they were shamed into confessing
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