Definition of shame
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: 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
3a
: something that brings censure or reproach
also
: something to be regretted : pity
it's a shame you can't go
b
: a cause of feeling shame
shame
verb
shamed; shaming
Definition of shame (Entry 2 of 2)
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
Test Your Vocabulary
Commonly Confused Words Quiz
-
- I went to the ______ store to buy a birthday card.

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share shame
Time Traveler for shame
The first known use of shame was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century