a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
"She felt a deep shame after realizing she had forgotten their anniversary."
Uncomfortable or painful feeling due to recognition or consciousness of one's own impropriety or dishonor, or something being exposed that should have been kept private.
"She felt a deep shame when her secret mistake was revealed during the meeting."
In plain English: Shame is the painful feeling of embarrassment you get when you think other people are judging your actions negatively.
"I felt such shame after forgetting my friend's birthday."
Usage: Use the uncountable noun shame to describe a general sense of guilt about your actions rather than specific instances. Distinguish it from "shamed," which is an adjective describing someone who feels this way after being criticized by others.
cause to be ashamed
"The teacher's harsh criticism made him feel shame, causing his head to drop low in embarrassment."
surpass or beat by a wide margin
"The champion team shamefully defeated their opponents by a score of fifty to zero."
To cause to feel shame.
"His reckless behavior shamed his entire family into hiding their heads in embarrassment."
A cry of admonition for the subject of a speech, either to denounce the speaker or to agree with the speaker's denunciation of some person or matter; often used reduplicated, especially in political debates.
"The audience broke into repeated shames at the senator's failure to address the crisis honestly."
The word "shame" comes from Old English sċamu and traveled into modern usage with its original meaning intact. It shares a common root across many Germanic languages, including the similar words for shame found in Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic.