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View synonyms for ashamed

ashamed

[ uh-sheymd ]

adjective

  1. feeling shame; distressed or embarrassed by feelings of guilt, foolishness, or disgrace:

    He felt ashamed for having spoken so cruelly.

    Antonyms: proud

  2. unwilling or restrained because of fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval:

    They were ashamed to show their work.

    Antonyms: proud

  3. Chiefly Midland U.S. (especially of children) bashful; timid.


ashamed

/ əˈʃeɪmɪdlɪ; əˈʃeɪmd /

adjective

  1. overcome with shame, guilt, or remorse
  2. foll by of suffering from feelings of inferiority or shame in relation to (a person, thing, or deed)
  3. foll by to unwilling through fear of humiliation, shame, etc


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Derived Forms

  • ashamedly, adverb

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Other Words From

  • a·sham·ed·ly [uh, -, shey, -mid-lee], adverb
  • a·shamed·ness noun
  • half-a·shamed adjective
  • half-a·shamed·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of ashamed1

First recorded before 1000; originally past participle of earlier ashame (verb) “to be ashamed,” Middle English, Old English āscamian, equivalent to ā- a prefix + scamian “to shame”; a- 3, shame

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Word History and Origins

Origin of ashamed1

Old English āscamod, past participle of āscamian to shame, from scamu shame

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Synonym Study

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.

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Example Sentences

I raised my arms in victory after rolling awkwardly off the bars, then swallowed that pride and climbed down twice as slowly, ashamed of the instincts that led me there.

I don’t care how long has passed-Diane Sawyer should be ashamed of herselfFormer NBC anchor Matt Lauer was roundly chastised, too, for the footage that appears in the documentary.

He was a pornographer and should be measured as such, and you, sir, should be ashamed of yourself.

From Ozy

Ask for a reversal of at least some of the fees, and also do not feel ashamed to say, “Please help me.”

High-sugar, high-fat, and high-calorie foods are deemed “sinfully delicious,” an indulgence to feel a little ashamed of.

Sabrine says that despite the private horror of what she was going through, she was too ashamed to tell her family.

And though I knew I should say something, I still felt ashamed.

For the first time since I put my acceptance letter in the mail, I woke up this morning ashamed of my alma mater.

Distraught, confused and ashamed, both men broke down in the courtroom, weeping like children and begging for forgiveness.

Indeed, many of the posters are, it seems, feeling ashamed about their actions.

The dog stood with hanging head and tail, as if ashamed he had let so many of his enemies get away unharmed.

Be ashamed of upbraiding speeches before friends: and after thou hast given, upbraid not.

And then Jolly Robin would feel ashamed that he had even thought of being so cruel to an infant bird, even if he was a Cowbird.

But she was very much ashamed of you—and so was I; and at last we all sent Captain Lovelock after you to bring you back.

A certain great authority once said that if he had made it he would have been ashamed of it.

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