ashamed

[ uh-sheymd ]

adjective

1. feeling shame; distressed or embarrassed by feelings of guilt, foolishness, or disgrace:

   He felt ashamed for having spoken so cruelly.

   Antonyms: proud

2. unwilling or restrained because of fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval:

   They were ashamed to show their work.

   Antonyms: proud

3. Chiefly Midland U.S. (especially of children) bashful; timid.

ashamed

/ əˈʃeɪmd; əˈʃeɪmɪdlɪ /

adjective

1. overcome with shame, guilt, or remorse
2. foll by of suffering from feelings of inferiority or shame in relation to (a person, thing, or deed)
3. foll by to unwilling through fear of humiliation, shame, etc

Derived Forms

• ashamedly, adverb

Other Words From

• a·sham·ed·ly [uh, -, shey, -mid-lee], adverb
• a·shamed·ness noun
• half-a·shamed adjective
• half-a·shamed·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ashamed¹

First recorded before 1000; originally past participle of earlier ashame (verb) “to be ashamed,” Middle English, Old English āscamian, equivalent to ā- a prefix + scamian “to shame”; a- ³, shame

Word History and Origins

Origin of ashamed¹

Old English āscamod, past participle of āscamian to shame, from scamu shame

Synonym Study

Ashamed, humiliated, mortified refer to a condition or feeling of discomfort or embarrassment. Ashamed focuses on the sense of one's own responsibility for an act, whether it is foolish, improper, or immoral: He was ashamed of his dishonesty. She was ashamed of her mistake. Humiliated stresses a feeling of being humbled or disgraced, without any necessary implication of guilt: He was humiliated by the king. Both words are used equally in situations in which one is felt to be responsible for the actions of another: Robert felt humiliated by his daughter's behavior. Mom was ashamed of the way I looked. Mortified represents an intensification of the feelings implied by the other two words: She was mortified by her clumsiness.

Example Sentences

The room was hushed as she responded calmly that when she had first gone into the court in Avignon her children were ashamed of the name, but that her grandchildren were still called Pelicot.

From BBC

The officer went to the control room of Buckingham Palace, where he admitted that he had dropped the magazine, explaining that he had felt "stupid, ashamed and embarrassed" since the incident.

From BBC

In other recent posts and comments, she said she was “ashamed to be an American” and that Trump supporters “worship a fascist.”

From Los Angeles Times

I feel like I don’t need to feel ashamed.”

From BBC

In it, he said: "I am deeply sorry and ashamed of my charges. I recognise my actions were offensive and immoral. I wish I had behaved differently."

From BBC

Related Words

• apologetic
• bashful
• contrite
• distraught
• distressed
• embarrassed
• guilty
• hesitant
• humble
• humbled
• humiliated
• regretful
• reluctant
• repentant
• shy
• sorry