Word family noun shame shamefulness shamelessness adjective ashamed ≠ unashamed shameful shameless verb shame adverb shamefully ≠ shamelessly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishashameda‧shamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ ●●○ S3 adjective [not before noun] 1 ASHAMEDfeeling very sorry and embarrassed because of something you have doneashamed of/at I felt ashamed of the things I’d said to him.be ashamed to do something I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never read any of his books.ashamed that She felt ashamed that she had missed her sister’s wedding.deeply/bitterly/thoroughly ashamed Alan was deeply ashamed when he remembered what he’d said. Everyone cries sometimes – it’s nothing to be ashamed of.be/feel ashamed of yourself You should be ashamed of yourself.2 EMBARRASSEDfeeling uncomfortable because someone does something that embarrasses youashamed of Many children feel ashamed of their parents.ashamed to be/do something Their behaviour makes me ashamed to be British.GRAMMAR: Comparisonashamed• You feel ashamed of something or someone: She was ashamed of her behaviour. You should be ashamed of yourself!embarrassed• You feel embarrassed by something or someone: I was embarrassed by the fact that I knew nothing about cars.Minna felt embarrassed by her parents.• You feel embarrassed about something: He was clearly embarrassed about what had happened.THESAURUSashamed [not before noun] feeling very sorry and embarrassed because of something you have done, or someone connected with you has doneYou should be ashamed of yourself.She felt deeply ashamed of her son’s behaviour.humiliated [not before noun] very ashamed and upset, because someone has made you look weak or stupid, especially in front of other peopleI came out of the class feeling humiliated.mortified /ˈmɔːtɪfaɪd $ ˈmɔːr-/ extremely ashamed and embarrassed, especially about something you have done accidentallyShe’ll be mortified when she realizes her mistake.a mortified expressionshamefaced showing by the expression on your face that you are ashamed about somethingPaul came into my office looking shamefaced and apologized for what he had done.feel guilty (also feel bad especially spoken) to feel worried and unhappy because you know that you have done something wrong. Feel bad is more informal than feel guiltyHe felt guilty about lying to his parents.I felt bad about letting the team down.lose face to lose people’s respect for you, especially by doing something that makes you look weak or stupid in front of other peopleHe feels he’ll lose face if he admits to his staff that he was wrong. Examples from the Corpus
ashamed• For a second, their generosity towards him made me feel ashamed.• It was the booze talking, John understood that, but he still felt baffled and ashamed.• I didn't want anyone to know I'd been fired because I felt ashamed.• The knowledge that I had caused him to lose his job made me bitterly ashamed.• There's nothing to be ashamed about - lots of people have money problems.• She felt ashamed of being such a failure.• She was so ashamed of cheating on the test that she went and told the teacher.• It made him feel that maybe she was ashamed of him.• For a long time I was ashamed of my father and the fact he never finished school.• I was ashamed of myself, you see.• You ought to be ashamed of yourself - coming home drunk like that!• I realize now that you were telling the truth, and I'm ashamed that I didn't believe you.• He had felt ashamed the first time he put it on: it brought him back to his ugliness.• She really needed me but - I'm ashamed to admit it - I didn't help her.• And finally: If things are done that the enemy would be ashamed to do, there is an advantage.be/feel ashamed of yourself• And, being free, he could be ashamed of himself.• It is a shocking state of affairs, and the Secretary of State should be ashamed of himself.• Mr Bennett, even at his hourly fees still an officer of the court, should be ashamed of himself.• Sarah Greene and Mike Smith should be ashamed of themselves.• The Nogales International ought to be ashamed of itself.• Then they should be ashamed of themselves.---.• They should be ashamed of themselves that even the rumor that his job was in danger got out.• You ought to be ashamed of yourself.ashamed to be/do something• I'd be ashamed to bring my boss here or any influential person from work.• I am ashamed to think that you believe me capable of such a shameful and criminal act.• I feel jealous and excluded, but I am ashamed to say so.• Really, David, you ought to be ashamed to repeat such blather.• We are ashamed to deliberately make a system so inconvenient that people will stop using it.• You may well be ashamed to see me after your noise and nonsense.• He wanted to look his best so that Sweetheart would not be ashamed to be seen out with him.• His behavior makes me ashamed to be seen with him in public.• And finally: If things are done that the enemy would be ashamed to do, there is an advantage. 