What does "shame" mean?
Shame: Reproach incurred or suffered; dishonor; ignominy; derision; contempt. Ye have borne the shame of the heathen. Ezek. xxxvi.
Additional senses
- 2.Honor and shame from no condition rise. Pope. And every woe a tear can claim Except an erring sister's shame. Byron.
- 3.The cause or reason of shame; that which brings reproach, and degrades a person in the estimation of others; disgrace. O Cshame is this! Shak. Guides who are the shame of religion. Shak.
- 4.The parts which modesty requires to be covered; the private parts. Isa. xlvii.
- 5.For shame! you should be ashamed; shame on you! -- To put to shame, to cause to feel shame; to humiliate; to disgrace. "Let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil." Ps. xl.
- 6.1. To make ashamed; to excite in (a person) a comsciousness of guilt or impropriety, or of conduct derogatory to reputation; to put to shame. Were there but one righteous in the world, he would . . . shame the world, and not the world him. South.
- 7.To cover with reproach or ignominy; to dishonor; to disgrace. And with foul cowardice his carcass shame. Spenser.
- 8.To mock at; to deride. [Obs. or R.] Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor. Ps. xiv.
- 9.To be ashamed; to feel shame. [R.] I do shame To think of what a noble strain you are. Shak.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00