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
Example Sentences
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
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Arcelia Martin, Dallas News, 18 May 2023
Which was a shame because when allowed to, this cast delivered in a huge way.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 18 May 2023
Courtesy of Daryll Henrich When leaders of public companies and other high-profile institutions start speaking openly about their experiences with depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges, the veil of shame that conceals many of these conversations at work starts to lift.
—Morra Aarons-mele, Fortune Well, 15 May 2023
But for both women, the pleasures outweigh any shame.
—Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 12 May 2023
American Horror Story actress Emma Roberts is set to star in the new comedy Hot Mess, playing a woman whose personal life implodes on a TV dating show who has to take the ultimate walk of shame back to her hometown.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2023
Set in 17th-century New England, The Scarlet Letter follows Hester Prynne, whose love affair with a clergyman—and subsequent pregnancy—lead her hypocritical Puritan neighbors to shame and shun her.
—Ted Scheinman, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2023
There’s no shame in keeping your head down and ignoring the press for a long time.
—Casey Newton, The Verge, 26 Apr. 2023
As the Iglesias prepare to move back to Puerto Rico after 19 years of living the hard-scrabble life of immigrants on Long Island, feelings of resentment, guilt, grief, shame, and yes, love, all spill out.
—Terry Byrne, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Apr. 2023
Steve Baltin, Forbes, 7 May 2023
For their own list of goals listing how to achieve a more sustainable future, the brothers seem to have written Don't shame the audience in block letters at the top.
—Kaitlin Menza, House Beautiful, 27 Apr. 2023
The threat of being shamed lurks at the edges of all of internet life.
—Claire Dederer, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2023
Her fans, on the other hand, were less apt to let the body shaming slide.
—Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 26 Apr. 2023
The number of people posting complaints, and shaming companies online, has more than doubled since 2020.
—Nancy Chen, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2023
But, of course, there’s a large audience for that, no drink shaming here.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2023
Eventually, however, LPL discovered a new avenue for his efforts, one with potential for broader appeal: leveraging YouTube to get the word out about flimsy consumer locks with the goal of shaming their producers into making something better.
—Hazlitt, 5 Apr. 2023
No company would want to be publicly shamed for misusing the data of over a million children, but that’s where TikTok finds itself today after the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office whacked it with a £12.7 million ($15.9 million) fine.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2023
See More
Noun
Since remarrying and more broadly sharing about her conviction, Williams said she’s moved from shame to testimony.
—Arcelia Martin, Dallas News, 18 May 2023
Which was a shame because when allowed to, this cast delivered in a huge way.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 18 May 2023
Courtesy of Daryll Henrich When leaders of public companies and other high-profile institutions start speaking openly about their experiences with depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges, the veil of shame that conceals many of these conversations at work starts to lift.
—Morra Aarons-mele, Fortune Well, 15 May 2023
But for both women, the pleasures outweigh any shame.
—Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 12 May 2023
American Horror Story actress Emma Roberts is set to star in the new comedy Hot Mess, playing a woman whose personal life implodes on a TV dating show who has to take the ultimate walk of shame back to her hometown.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2023
Set in 17th-century New England, The Scarlet Letter follows Hester Prynne, whose love affair with a clergyman—and subsequent pregnancy—lead her hypocritical Puritan neighbors to shame and shun her.
—Ted Scheinman, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2023
There’s no shame in keeping your head down and ignoring the press for a long time.
—Casey Newton, The Verge, 26 Apr. 2023
As the Iglesias prepare to move back to Puerto Rico after 19 years of living the hard-scrabble life of immigrants on Long Island, feelings of resentment, guilt, grief, shame, and yes, love, all spill out.
—Terry Byrne, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Apr. 2023
Verb
But just being very gentle with yourself and not shaming yourself for things, just taking your time with it.
—Steve Baltin, Forbes, 7 May 2023
For their own list of goals listing how to achieve a more sustainable future, the brothers seem to have written Don't shame the audience in block letters at the top.
—Kaitlin Menza, House Beautiful, 27 Apr. 2023
The threat of being shamed lurks at the edges of all of internet life.
—Claire Dederer, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2023
Her fans, on the other hand, were less apt to let the body shaming slide.
—Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 26 Apr. 2023
The number of people posting complaints, and shaming companies online, has more than doubled since 2020.
—Nancy Chen, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2023
But, of course, there’s a large audience for that, no drink shaming here.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2023
Eventually, however, LPL discovered a new avenue for his efforts, one with potential for broader appeal: leveraging YouTube to get the word out about flimsy consumer locks with the goal of shaming their producers into making something better.
—Hazlitt, 5 Apr. 2023
No company would want to be publicly shamed for misusing the data of over a million children, but that’s where TikTok finds itself today after the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office whacked it with a £12.7 million ($15.9 million) fine.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2023
See More
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.
Word History
Phrases Containing shame
Dictionary Entries Near shame
Cite this Entry
“Shame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shame. Accessed 8 Jun. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on shame
Nglish: Translation of shame for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of shame for Arabic Speakers
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