INDEX:
1. ashamed
2. the feeling of being ashamed
3. to make someone feel ashamed
4. not feeling ashamed
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ PROUD
see also
↑ EMBARRASSED/EMBARRASSING
↑ GUILTY
↑ REGRET/NOT REGRET
↑ BAD (5)
◆◆◆
1. ashamed
▷ ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ [adjective]
someone who is ashamed feels very sorry about something they have done or embarrassed by something relating to them, so that they think people may no longer respect them :
▪ I didn’t want anyone to know I’d been fired because I felt ashamed.
ashamed of
▪ She was so ashamed of cheating on the test that she went and told the teacher.
▪ For a long time I was ashamed of my father and the fact he never finished school.
ashamed about
▪ There’s nothing to be ashamed about - lots of people have money problems.
ashamed (that)
▪ I realize now that you were telling the truth, and I’m ashamed that I didn’t believe you.
ashamed to do something
▪ She really needed me but - I’m ashamed to admit it - I didn’t help her.
ashamed of yourself
▪ You ought to be ashamed of yourself - coming home drunk like that!
bitterly/deeply ashamed
▪ The knowledge that I had caused him to lose his job made me bitterly ashamed.
▷ humiliated /hjuːˈmɪlieɪtɪd, hjuːˈmɪlieɪtəd/ [adjective not usually before noun]
feeling very ashamed and upset, especially because you have been made to look weak or stupid and you think that no one will respect you :
▪ Ross yelled at me in front of the whole office - I’ve never been so humiliated in my life!
▪ Many women who have been assaulted feel too frightened and humiliated to report their ordeal.
▷ can’t look somebody in the face/not be able to look somebody in the face /kɑːnt ˌlʊk somebody ɪn ðə ˈfeɪsǁkænt-, nɒt bi ˌeɪb ə l tə ˌlʊk somebody ɪn ðə ˈfeɪs/ [verb phrase]
to be so ashamed about something you have done to someone that you find it difficult to be with them or talk to them :
▪ I’m so embarrassed - I’ll never be able to look her in the face again.
▪ After the layoffs were announced, I couldn’t look any of the people on the shop floor in the face.
▷ shamefaced /ˌʃeɪmˈfeɪst◂/ [adjective]
showing in the expression on your face that you are ashamed about something and you know you have behaved badly :
▪ He came to my office, shamefaced, to apologize.
▪ A shamefaced spokesperson admitted that mistakes had been made.
▷ hang/bow your head (in shame) /ˌhæŋ, ˌbaʊ jɔːʳ ˌhed (ɪn ˈʃeɪm)/ [verb phrase]
to look ashamed :
▪ He bowed his head in shame as the details of his arrest were read out in court.
▷ shame on you! /ˈʃeɪm ɒn juː/ spoken
use this to tell someone that they should feel shame because of something they have done :
▪ Shame on you for lying to your grandmother!
2. the feeling of being ashamed
▷ shame /ʃeɪm/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling that you have when you know that you have behaved badly or that you have lost other people’s respect :
▪ She remembered her angry words with a deep sense of shame.
▪ ‘Please don’t tell my dad about this,’ he said, blushing with shame.
shame of
▪ She never overcame the shame of having abandoned her children.
in shame
▪ Following the scandal, Garrison resigned in shame.
▷ disgrace /dɪsˈgreɪs/ [uncountable noun]
when you have completely lost other people’s respect because of something bad you have done :
▪ While the father was in jail, the whole family suffered his disgrace.
disgrace of
▪ Garton killed himself because he could not bear the disgrace of a public scandal.
in disgrace
▪ Browne was caught using drugs, and was sent home from the private school in disgrace.
▷ humiliation /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
a situation in which you are made to look weak or stupid that makes you ashamed and upset :
▪ Her attackers seemed to take special pleasure in her humiliation.
humiliation of
▪ What really upset me was the humiliation of having to ask her for money.
public humiliation
▪ The Senator’s public humiliation is almost punishment enough for what he did.
▷ indignity /ɪnˈdɪgnɪti, ɪnˈdɪgnəti/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a situation in which you feel that you have no pride or self-respect, because people treat you as if you were completely unimportant :
▪ He suffered insult and indignity in silence.
▪ Being accused of theft was just one of the indignities I suffered under my last employer.
indignity of
▪ I had to endure the indignity of being strip-searched for drugs.
▷ lose face /ˌluːz ˈfeɪs/ [verb phrase]
to lose other people’s respect for you, especially by doing something that makes you look weak, immoral, or stupid :
▪ The leaders need to find a way of compromising without losing face among their supporters.
▪ Rather than giving in and losing face, she carried on her needless quarrel with her father.
loss of face /ˌlɒs əv ˈfeɪsǁˌlɔːs-/ [noun phrase]
▪ The government suffered a severe loss of face when details of the scandal emerged.
▷ stigma /ˈstɪgmə/ [countable noun usually singular]
a strong feeling of being hated by society and being ashamed because of your situation or your actions :
▪ Even when someone has been found innocent of a crime, the stigma often remains.
stigma of
▪ At first I found the stigma of being unemployed very difficult to cope with.
a stigma attached to something
▪ In many countries there is still a strong social stigma attached to homosexuality.
3. to make someone feel ashamed
▷ make somebody (feel) ashamed /ˌmeɪk somebody fiːl əˈʃeɪmd/ [verb phrase]
▪ At first the neighbor’s generosity made her feel ashamed.
▪ What I saw in the schools made me ashamed of my views - it was clear to me that most students really want to learn.
▷ shame somebody /ˈʃeɪm somebody/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel ashamed :
▪ People with leprosy were shamed and driven out of their communities.
shame somebody into (doing) something
▪ Many people have been shamed into silence when it comes to discussing their sex lives.
it shames somebody to do something
▪ It shamed her to realize how long she had been involved with Claude.
▷ humiliate /hjuːˈmɪlieɪt/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel very ashamed and upset, especially by making them look weak or stupid :
▪ Why do you always have to humiliate me in front of your friends?
▪ The invading army took every opportunity to humiliate the local peasants.
▷ disgrace /dɪsˈgreɪs/ [transitive verb]
if you disgrace yourself or disgrace your family, your school etc, you behave very badly so that other people lose respect for you or for your family or school :
▪ She didn’t tell anyone that she was pregnant for fear of disgracing her family.
▪ My grandmother thought I was disgracing myself, following Tim around like a love-sick puppy.
▷ bring shame on /brɪŋ ˈʃeɪm ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to make people lose respect for yourself, your family, country etc because you have behaved badly :
▪ The MP was accused of bringing shame and humiliation on the whole party.
▪ The shooting of an innocent man has brought shame on the entire police department.
▷ humiliating /hjuːˈmɪlieɪtɪŋ/ [adjective]
causing a complete loss of self-respect, especially because you have been made to look weak or stupid :
▪ I had to apologize in front of everyone - it was so humiliating.
▪ Prisoners are subjected to humiliating treatment and frequent beatings.
▪ Anderson suffered a humiliating defeat in the last election.
▷ degrading /dɪˈgreɪdɪŋ/ [adjective]
a situation or way of treating someone that is degrading makes them lose all their self-respect and makes them feel that they are completely worthless :
▪ These poor people live in the most degrading conditions.
degrading to
▪ Many of the remarks were degrading to women and minorities.
4. not feeling ashamed
▷ shameless /ˈʃeɪmləs/ [adjective]
someone who is shameless or whose behaviour is shameless does not seem to feel ashamed about something that most people would be very ashamed about :
▪ Lewis is shameless in making promises he doesn’t intend to keep.
▪ This is just another shameless attempt by the Opposition to gain power at any cost.
▷ unabashed /ˌʌnəˈbæʃt◂/ [adjective]
not feeling embarrassed or ashamed about something that most people disapprove of or consider silly :
▪ Kendall is a nasty unabashed racist.
▪ ‘I’d love to go!’ she said with unabashed enthusiasm.
▷ unashamed /ˌʌnəˈʃeɪmd◂/ [adjective]
not feeling embarrassed or ashamed about something that people might disapprove of :
▪ It’s amazing how unashamed people are to discuss their problems on TV.
unashamed of/about
▪ She was raised in a strict Catholic household but seems completely unashamed and relaxed about sex.
▷ brazen /ˈbreɪz ə n/ [adjective]
behaving in a very confident way that shows that you do not feel shame that you are doing something wrong :
▪ His wife could no longer tolerate his brazen love affairs.
▪ At first they were careful to keep their illegal practices secret, but as time went by, they grew more brazen.
▷ unrepentant /ˌʌnrɪˈpentənt◂/ [adjective]
not feeling sorry for behaviour or ashamed of beliefs that most other people disapprove of :
▪ Even after the rape conviction, Thayer remained unrepentant.
▪ Many consider the general an unrepentant and brutal tyrant.