ashamed

A1S1H4A1M3E1D2
/əˈʃeɪmd/

adjective

Feeling shame or guilt.

Similar
abasheddiscrediteddisgraceddishonoredembarrassedhumiliatedmortifiedguilty
Opposite
proudunashamed
OriginMiddle English ashamed ← Old English āsċamod →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectiveashamed (comparative more ashamed, superlative most ashamed)

comparative more ashamed · superlative most ashamed

  1. Feeling shame or guilt.

    Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.

    1859, Horace Mann, Address at Antioch College
    2 more examples

    They shall be turned back: they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, and say to the moulten images, Ye are our gods.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 42:17

    Good Sir pardon me, / I feel ſufficiently my follies penance, / And am aſham’d, that ſhame a thouſand ſorrows / Feed on continually, would I had never ſeen her, / Or with a clearer judgement look’d upon her, / She was too good for me, ſo heavenly good Sir, / Nothing but Heaven can love that ſoul ſufficiently, / Where I ſhall ſee her once again.

    1618, John Fletcher, “The Loyal Subject”, in Fifty Comedies and Tragedies, London: J. Macock, published 1679, act V, scene vi, page 279

    Synonyms: abashed

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of ashame

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveFeeling shame or guilt.

Similar
abashed
Opposite
proud

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivefeeling shame or guilt or embarrassment or remorse

Similar
discrediteddisgraceddishonoredembarrassedhumiliatedmortifiedguiltyhangdogshamefacedsheepish
Opposite
unashamed
Also see
abasheddiscrediteddisgraceddishonoredembarrassedguiltyhangdoghumiliatedmortifiedshamedshamefacedsheepishsmarting

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishāsċamian“to be ashamed”
  2. Old Englishāsċamod
  3. Middle Englishashamed
  4. Englishashamed

From Middle English ashamed, aschamed, from Old English āsċamod, past participle of Old English āsċamian (“to be ashamed”), equivalent to a- + shame + -ed.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek αἰσχῡ́νομαι, αἰδέομαι
  • αἰσχῡ́νομαι (aiskhū́nomai)feeling shame or guilt
  • αἰδέομαι (aidéomai)feeling shame or guilt
Arabic خَجْلَان, خَجُول
  • خَجْلَان (ḵajlān)feeling shame or guilt
  • خَجُول (ḵajūl)feeling shame or guilt
Bulgarian засрамен
  • засрамен (zasramen)feeling shame or guilt
Catalan avergonyit
  • avergonyitfeeling shame or guilt
Chinese Mandarin 慚愧 /惭愧, 羞愧
  • 慚愧 /惭愧 (cánkuì)feeling shame or guilt
  • 羞愧 (xiūkuì)feeling shame or guilt
Czech zahanbený
  • zahanbenýfeeling shame or guilt
Danish skamfuld
  • skamfuldfeeling shame or guilt
Dutch beschaamd
  • beschaamdfeeling shame or guilt
Esperanto honta, hontema
  • hontafeeling shame or guilt
  • hontemafeeling shame or guilt
Finnish häpeissään, nolostunut
  • häpeissäänfeeling shame or guilt
  • nolostunutfeeling shame or guilt
French honteux
  • honteuxfeeling shame or guilt
German beschämt
  • beschämtfeeling shame or guilt
Greek αισχρός, επονείδιστος
  • αισχρός (aischrós)feeling shame or guilt
  • επονείδιστος (eponeídistos)feeling shame or guilt
Hindi शर्मिंदा
  • शर्मिंदा (śarmindā)feeling shame or guilt
Hungarian szégyell, szégyenkezik
  • szégyellfeeling shame or guilt
  • szégyenkezikfeeling shame or guilt
Irish náirithe, náire a bheith ort
  • náirithefeeling shame or guilt
  • náire a bheith ortfeeling shame or guilt
  • is náir leatfeeling shame or guilt
Japanese 恥ずかしい
  • 恥ずかしい (hazukashii)feeling shame or guilt
Latin pudefactus
  • pudefactusfeeling shame or guilt
Māori aniu
  • aniufeeling shame or guilt
Norwegian Bokmål skamfull
  • skamfullfeeling shame or guilt
Persian خجالتزده, سرافکنده
  • خجالتزده (xejâlat-zade)feeling shame or guilt
  • سرافکنده (sar-afkande)feeling shame or guilt
  • شرمنده (šarmande)feeling shame or guilt
Polish zawstydzony
  • zawstydzonyfeeling shame or guilt
Portuguese envergonhado, avergonhado
  • envergonhadofeeling shame or guilt
  • avergonhadofeeling shame or guilt
Romanian rușinat
  • rușinatfeeling shame or guilt
Russian присты́женный, сты́дно
  • присты́женный (pristýžennyj)feeling shame or guilt
  • сты́дно (stýdno)feeling shame or guilt
  • со́вестно (sóvestno)feeling shame or guilt
Spanish avergonzado, apenado
  • avergonzadofeeling shame or guilt
  • apenadofeeling shame or guilt
Swedish skamsen
  • skamsenfeeling shame or guilt
Ukrainian присоро́млений
  • присоро́млений (prysorómlenyj)feeling shame or guilt
Cite this entry
APA

ashamed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ashamed

MLA

“ashamed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ashamed. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ashamed,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ashamed.

Source: ashamed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.