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
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
Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
This creates a vicious cycle where shame is a currency, and the only person who actually pays a price is the one who is mocked.
—Eli Thompson, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2025
Essence, 23 Oct. 2025
With more than 3,000 related posts on the app, Bushtok has also sparked conversations about the stigma of female body hair, specifically pubic hair, and its impact on body shaming culture.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shame
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Losing to a great football team by a point, there’s no shame in that.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
This creates a vicious cycle where shame is a currency, and the only person who actually pays a price is the one who is mocked.
—Eli Thompson, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
For Black men, systemic racism has inhibited their response to pain and emotional turmoil by shaming them out of vulnerability, which reduces the likelihood of them asking for help when needed.
—Essence, 23 Oct. 2025
With more than 3,000 related posts on the app, Bushtok has also sparked conversations about the stigma of female body hair, specifically pubic hair, and its impact on body shaming culture.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shame
Cite this Entry
“Shame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shame. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share