shame

[ sheym ]
/ ʃeɪm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR shame ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object), shamed, sham·ing.

Idioms for shame

    for shame! you should feel ashamed!: What a thing to say to your mother! For shame!
    put to shame,
    1. to cause to suffer shame or disgrace.
    2. to outdo; surpass: She played so well she put all the other tennis players to shame.

Origin of shame

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English sc(e)amu; cognate with German Scham, Old Norse skǫmm; (v.) Middle English schamen, shamien to be ashamed, Old English sc(e)amian, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR shame

1 Shame, embarrassment, mortification, humiliation, chagrin designate different kinds or degrees of painful feeling caused by injury to one's pride or self-respect. Shame is a painful feeling caused by the consciousness or exposure of unworthy or indecent conduct or circumstances: One feels shame at being caught in a lie. It is similar to guilt in the nature and origin of the feeling. Embarrassment usually refers to a feeling less painful than that of shame, one associated with less serious situations, often of a social nature: embarrassment over breaking a teacup at a party. Mortification is a more painful feeling, akin to shame but also more likely to arise from specifically social circumstances: his mortification at being singled out for rebuke. Humiliation is mortification at being humbled in the estimation of others: Being ignored gives one a sense of humiliation. Chagrin is humiliation mingled with vexation or anger: She felt chagrin at her failure to remember her promise.
5 humiliate, mortify, humble, abash, embarrass.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR shame ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM shame

Words nearby shame

shamateur, shamba, shamble, shambles, shambolic, shame, shame on you, shamefaced, shamefast, shameful, shameless

Words related to put to shame

humiliate, shame, surpass

British Dictionary definitions for put to shame

shame
/ (ʃeɪm) /

noun

interjection

Southern African informal
  1. an expression of sympathy
  2. an expression of pleasure or endearment

verb (tr)

Derived forms of shame

shamable or shameable, adjective

Word Origin for shame

Old English scamu; related to Old Norse skömm, Old High German skama

Idioms and Phrases with put to shame (1 of 2)

put to shame

Outdo, eclipse, as in Jane's immaculate kitchen puts mine to shame. This idiom modifies the literal sense of put to shame, that is, “disgrace someone,” to the much milder “cause to feel inferior.” [Mid-1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with put to shame (2 of 2)

shame