as in notorious
not respectable
shameful behavior by a bunch of drunken boors
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Recent Examples of shameful
Given how often Caravaggio painted betrayal and violence, a sense of guilt, however sublimated, is often woven into the experience of his work, the shameful feeling of being a passerby who sees all but fails to intervene.
—
Nicole Krauss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Something shameful felt very near, almost on top of him.
—Mary Gaitskill, New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2026
That doesn’t mean things have always been done right; reports that police and sanitation workers have in some circumstances simply discarded or destroyed inhabitants’ belongings without giving them the ability to pack up are shameful.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
To acknowledge the troubling, shameful aspects of American history is not to denigrate the Founders but to see them, and the others who made their livelihoods possible, as people.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shameful
Nicole Krauss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Something shameful felt very near, almost on top of him.
—Mary Gaitskill, New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2026
That doesn’t mean things have always been done right; reports that police and sanitation workers have in some circumstances simply discarded or destroyed inhabitants’ belongings without giving them the ability to pack up are shameful.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
To acknowledge the troubling, shameful aspects of American history is not to denigrate the Founders but to see them, and the others who made their livelihoods possible, as people.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shameful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shameful
Adjective
-
This is Bali in the slow lane, devoid of Ubud‘s notorious traffic jams and souvenir stores, and with barely any other hotels in the surrounding area.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
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Around that time Uthmeier was one of the forces behind the construction of notorious Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention facility located in the Everglades inside the Big Cypress National Preserve.—
Greg Cote
Updated March 30,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The public had little awareness of the U-2 until the infamous Gary Powers incident in 1960 when a U-2 was shot down by the Soviets inside their territory, which was a bit of a shock in more ways than one.—
David Szondy
March 29,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Taxstone’s scheme came during a particularly turbulent year at the infamous federal jail, which saw a brutal, caught-on video stabbing and two murders in 2024.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In addition to serving as a showrunner, Levy stars as Nicky, an openly gay pastor who gets wrapped up in a shady underworld plot with his flailing sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega).—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
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They get captured by Hungarian gangsters and have to fight (and kill) their way out of an inn run by a shady former dance prodigy (Uma Thurman).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Michigan State Police said Robert Wilson, 44, of Gaylord, was arrested on March 25 and lodged at the Otsego County Jail on one charge each of accosting a minor for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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When the status quo is fundamentally evil and dysfunctional, then Trimming is immoral.—
David Brooks,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Broidy’s criminal convictions notwithstanding, his allegations against Chalker appeared plausible.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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In October, the Justice Department filed criminal charges against James that have since been thrown out successive times by federal judges.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Heat repeatedly allowed open shots and unchallenged forays to the basket in another demoralizing and disgraceful defensive display, one made all the worse by the fact the Heat is fighting for playoff seeding.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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Disrespectful, inappropriate, disgraceful!—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shameful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shameful. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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