ASHAMED

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 /emd/ [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 didnt want anyone to know Id 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
Theres nothing to be ashamed about - lots of people have money problems.
ashamed (that)
I realize now that you were telling the truth, and Im ashamed that I didnt believe you.
ashamed to do something
She really needed me but - Im ashamed to admit it - I didnt 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 /hjumlietd, hjumlietd/ [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 - Ive never been so humiliated in my life!
Many women who have been assaulted feel too frightened and humiliated to report
their ordeal.
cant look somebody in the face/not be able to look somebody in the face /knt
lk somebody n fes knt-, nt bi ebl t lk somebody n fes/ [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:
Im so embarrassed - Ill never be able to look her in the face again.
After the layoffs were announced, I couldnt look any of the people on the shop floor in
the face.
shamefaced /emfest/ [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) /h, ba j hed (n em)/ [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! /em n ju/ 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 /em/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling that you have when you know that you have behaved badly or that you have
lost other peoples respect:
She remembered her angry words with a deep sense of shame.

 Please dont 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 /dsgres/ [uncountable noun]
when you have completely lost other peoples 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 /hjumlien/ [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 Senators public humiliation is almost punishment enough for what he did.
indignity /ndgnti, ndgnti/ [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 /luz fes/ [verb phrase]
to lose other peoples 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 /ls v fes ls-/ [noun phrase]
The government suffered a severe loss of face when details of the scandal emerged.
stigma /stgm/ [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 /mek somebody fil emd/ [verb phrase]
At first the neighbors 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 /em 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 /hjumliet/ [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 /dsgres/ [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 didnt 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 /br em n/ [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 /hjumliet/ [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 /dgred/ [adjective]
a situation or way of treating someone that is degrading makes them lose all their selfrespect 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 /emls/ [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 doesnt intend to keep.
This is just another shameless attempt by the Opposition to gain power at any cost.
unabashed /nbt/ [adjective]
not feeling embarrassed or ashamed about something that most people disapprove of or
consider silly:
Kendall is a nasty unabashed racist.
Id love to go! she said with unabashed enthusiasm.

unashamed /nemd/ [adjective]

not feeling embarrassed or ashamed about something that people might disapprove of:
Its 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 /brezn/ [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 /nrpentnt/ [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.