— ashamedly /euh shay"mid lee/ , adv. — ashamedness , n.
/euh shaymd"/ , adj.
1. feeling shame; distressed or embarrassed by feelings of guilt, foolishness, or disgrace: He felt ashamed for having spoken so cruelly.
2. unwilling or restrained because of fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval: They were ashamed to show their work.
3. Chiefly Midland U.S. (esp. of children) bashful; timid.
[ bef. 1000; orig. ptp. of earlier ashame (v.) to be ashamed, ME, OE ascamian, equiv. to a- A- 3 + scamian to SHAME ]
Syn. 1. 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.
Ant. 1, 2. proud.