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

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

"I want other women to know they shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about these kinds of crimes it to anyone."

From BBC

Wiles read a letter to Summerall during an intervention in 1992: “Dad, the few times we’ve been out in public together recently, I’ve been ashamed we shared the same last name.”

From Los Angeles Times

The judge said McMonagle had said he was “ashamed of his behaviour and deeply regretted the hurt and problems he had caused for other people”.

From BBC

Related Words

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