Shame — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt

a state of dishonor

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ʃˈeɪm/

🇬🇧British English

/ʃˈeɪm/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ʃˈeɪm/

1 syllable Say it as /ʃˈeɪm/.

Examples

one mistake brought shame to all his family
suffered the ignominy of being sent to prison
it's a pity he couldn't do it

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

dishonour pity disgrace dishonor attaint ignominy

Antonyms

honor

Parts of Speech

noun	a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
noun	a state of dishonor “one mistake brought shame to all his family”
noun	an unfortunate development “it's a pity he couldn't do it”
verb	bring shame or dishonor upon “he dishonored his family by committing a serious crime”
verb	compel through a sense of shame “She shamed him into making amends”
verb	cause to be ashamed
verb	surpass or beat by a wide margin

Word Forms

shame	verb	cause to be ashamed
disgrace	verb	damage the reputation of
ignominious	adjective	(used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame; - Rachel Carson
piteous	adjective	deserving or inciting pity; ; ; - Galsworthy
dishonor	noun	lacking honor or integrity
disgrace	noun	a state of dishonor
dishonour	noun	lacking honor or integrity
shame	noun	a state of dishonor

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Scham

ein schmerzhaftes Gefühl, das aus dem Bewusstsein von Unzulänglichkeit oder Schuld resultiert

🇫🇷French

honte

une émotion douloureuse résultant d'une conscience d'insuffisance ou de culpabilité

🇪🇸Spanish

lástima

una emoción dolorosa que resulta de la conciencia de insuficiencia o culpa

🇮🇹Italian

vergogna

un’emozione dolorosa derivante dalla consapevolezza di inadeguatezza o senso di colpa

🇳🇱Dutch

schaamte

een pijnlijke emotie die voortkomt uit een besef van ontoereikendheid of schuldgevoel

🇵🇹Portuguese

vergonha

uma emoção dolorosa resultante de uma consciência de inadequação ou culpa

🇷🇺Russian

стыд

болезненная эмоция, возникающая в результате осознания своей неполноценности или вины

India

🇮🇳Hindi

शर्म करो

अपर्याप्तता या अपराधबोध की जागरूकता से उत्पन्न एक दर्दनाक भावना

🇧🇩Bengali

লজ্জা

অপ্রতুলতা বা অপরাধবোধ সম্পর্কে সচেতনতার ফলে একটি বেদনাদায়ক আবেগ

🇮🇳Tamil

அவமானம்

போதாமை அல்லது குற்ற உணர்வு பற்றிய விழிப்புணர்வின் விளைவாக வலிமிகுந்த உணர்ச்சி

🇮🇳Telugu

అవమానం

అసమర్థత లేదా అపరాధం యొక్క అవగాహన ఫలితంగా బాధాకరమైన భావోద్వేగం

🇮🇳Marathi

लाज

अपुरेपणा किंवा अपराधीपणाच्या जाणीवेमुळे उद्भवणारी वेदनादायक भावना

🇮🇳Gujarati

શરમ

અયોગ્યતા અથવા અપરાધની જાગૃતિના પરિણામે પીડાદાયક લાગણી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅವಮಾನ

ಅಸಮರ್ಪಕತೆ ಅಥವಾ ಅಪರಾಧದ ಅರಿವಿನಿಂದ ಉಂಟಾಗುವ ನೋವಿನ ಭಾವನೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നാണക്കേട്

അപര്യാപ്തതയുടെയോ കുറ്റബോധത്തിൻ്റെയോ അവബോധത്തിൻ്റെ ഫലമായുണ്ടാകുന്ന വേദനാജനകമായ വികാരം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸ਼ਰਮ

ਅਯੋਗਤਾ ਜਾਂ ਦੋਸ਼ ਦੀ ਜਾਗਰੂਕਤਾ ਦੇ ਨਤੀਜੇ ਵਜੋਂ ਇੱਕ ਦਰਦਨਾਕ ਭਾਵਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

شرم

ناکافی یا جرم کے بارے میں آگاہی کے نتیجے میں ایک تکلیف دہ جذبات

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

耻辱

由于意识到自己的不足或内疚而产生的痛苦情绪

🇯🇵Japanese

恥

不十分さや罪悪感の意識から生じる痛みを伴う感情

🇰🇷Korean

창피

부적절함이나 죄책감에 대한 인식으로 인해 발생하는 고통스러운 감정

🇻🇳Vietnamese

nỗi tủi nhục

một cảm xúc đau đớn xuất phát từ nhận thức về sự thiếu sót hoặc cảm giác tội lỗi

🇹🇭Thai

ความอัปยศ

อารมณ์อันเจ็บปวดอันเป็นผลมาจากการตระหนักถึงความไม่เพียงพอหรือความรู้สึกผิด

🇮🇩Indonesian

malu

emosi menyakitkan akibat kesadaran akan ketidakmampuan atau rasa bersalah

🇵🇭Filipino

kahihiyan

isang masakit na damdamin na nagreresulta mula sa isang kamalayan ng kakulangan o pagkakasala

🇲🇾Malay

rasa malu

emosi yang menyakitkan akibat daripada kesedaran tentang ketidakcukupan atau rasa bersalah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

عار

عاطفة مؤلمة ناتجة عن الوعي بالنقص أو الذنب

🇮🇷Persian

شرم

یک احساس دردناک ناشی از آگاهی از بی کفایتی یا احساس گناه

🇹🇷Turkish

utanç

Yetersizlik veya suçluluk farkındalığından kaynaklanan acı verici bir duygu

🇮🇱Hebrew

בּוּשָׁה

רגש כואב הנובע ממודעות לחוסר התאמה או אשמה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'shame'?

The primary meaning of 'shame' is 'a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'shame' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'shame' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'shame' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'shame' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'shame' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'shame' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'shame' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'shame' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'shame' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'shame' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted