I. shame 1 S2 /ʃeɪm/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ shame , ↑ shamefulness , ↑ shamelessness ; adjective : ↑ ashamed ≠ ↑ unashamed , ↑ shameful , ↑ shameless ; verb : ↑ shame ; adverb : ↑ shamefully ≠ ↑ shamelessly ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: scamu ]
1 . it’s a shame/what a shame etc spoken used when you wish a situation was different, and you feel sad or disappointed:
‘She’s failed her test again.’ ‘What a shame!’
It’s a shame that you have to leave so soon.
What a shame we missed the wedding.
It's a shame about the weather.
it is a shame to do something
It’s a shame to cover this beautiful table with a tablecloth.
I can’t imagine why they canceled your show, Tracy. That’s such a shame.
a crying/great/terrible shame
It was a crying shame that they lost the game.
REGISTER
In written English, people usually say something is unfortunate rather than a shame :
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It’s unfortunate that these warnings were not taken seriously.
2 . [uncountable] the feeling you have when you feel guilty and embarrassed because you, or someone who is close to you, have done something wrong:
He felt a deep sense of shame.
Maria blushed with shame.
To her shame (=it made her feel ashamed) , she gained back all the weight she’d lost.
He’s brought shame on the whole family.
hang/bow your head in shame (=look down, or feel like you should look down, because you feel so ashamed)
I bow my head in shame when I think of how I treated her.
There’s no shame in (=it should not make you feel ashamed) saying ‘I don’t know.’
3 . [uncountable] the ability to feel shame:
How could you do such a thing? Have you no shame?
4 . shame on you/him/them etc spoken used to say that someone should feel guilty or embarrassed because of something they have done:
Shame on you, Fred. I thought you were my friend!
5 . put somebody/something to shame to be so much better than someone or something else that it makes the other thing seem very bad or ordinary:
His cooking puts mine to shame.
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THESAURUS
▪ shame the feeling you have when you feel guilty and embarrassed because you, or someone who is close to you, have done something wrong:
She never overcame the shame of having abandoned her children.
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He remembered his angry words with a deep sense of shame.
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Following the scandal, Garrison resigned in shame.
▪ humiliation a feeling of shame and embarrassment because you have been made to look weak or stupid in front of other people:
What really upset me was the humiliation of having to ask her for money.
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He suffered the humiliation of defeat in the first round of the competition.
▪ dishonour British English , dishonor American English formal the loss of other people’s respect because you have done something bad, or you have been unsuccessful:
His comments have brought shame and dishonour on him and his profession.
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There is no dishonour in failure when you have done everything you possibly can to succeed.
▪ stigma the feeling that other people in society disapprove of you because of something that has happened to you, or because you feel different from most other people in some way – used especially when this seems unfair and unreasonable:
Even when someone has been found innocent of a crime, the stigma often remains.
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At first I found the stigma of being unemployed very difficult to cope with.
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In many countries there is still a strong social stigma attached to homosexuality.
■ great shame
▪ disgrace a complete loss of people’s respect because you have done something very bad and shocking:
His actions brought disgrace on the family.
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The players were sent home in disgrace after admitting taking drugs.
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Garton killed himself because he could not bear the disgrace of being charged with corruption.
▪ ignominy formal a feeling of great shame and embarrassment because you have been made to look weak or stupid – a very formal use:
The team suffered the ignominy of losing five games in a row.
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She hoped to avoid the ignominy of having to appear in court.
II. shame 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ shame , ↑ shamefulness , ↑ shamelessness ; adjective : ↑ ashamed ≠ ↑ unashamed , ↑ shameful , ↑ shameless ; verb : ↑ shame ; adverb : ↑ shamefully ≠ ↑ shamelessly ]
1 . to make someone feel ashamed:
It shames me to say it, but I lied.
He felt shamed and humiliated by the treatment he had received.
2 . shame somebody into doing something to force someone to do something by making them feel ashamed:
His wife shamed him into handing the money back.
3 . to be so much better than someone else that you make them seem bad or feel embarrassed:
Their training record shamed other companies.
4 . to make someone feel they have lost all honour and respect:
She had shamed her family name (=done something that made her family lose honour) .