shame

shame¹ S2 [ʃeım] n

[: Old English; Origin: scamu]

1.) it's a shame/what a shame etc

spoken used when you wish a situation was different, and you feel sad or disappointed

▪ 'She's failed her test again.' 'What a shame!'

▪ It's a shame that you have to leave so soon.

▪ What a shame we missed the wedding.

it is a shame to do sth

▪ It's a shame to cover this beautiful table with a tablecloth.

▪ I can't imagine why they canceled your show, Tracy. That's such a shame .

a crying/great/terrible shame

▪ It was a crying shame that they lost the game.

2.) [U]

the feeling you have when you feel guilty and embarrassed because you, or someone who is close to you, have done something wrong

▪ He felt a deep sense of shame.

▪ Maria blushed with shame.

▪ To her shame (=it made her feel ashamed) , she gained back all the weight she'd lost.

▪ He's brought shame on the whole family.

hang/bow your head in shame

(=look down, or feel like you should look down, because you feel so ashamed)

▪ I bow my head in shame when I think of how I treated her.

▪ There's no shame in (=it should not make you feel ashamed) saying 'I don't know'.

3.) [U]

the ability to feel shame

▪ How could you do such a thing? Have you no shame ?

4.) shame on you/him/them etc

spoken used to say that someone should feel guilty or embarrassed because of something they have done

▪ Shame on you, Fred. I thought you were my friend!

5.) put sb/sth to shame

to be so much better than someone or something else that it makes the other thing seem very bad or ordinary

▪ His cooking puts mine to shame.

shame ²

shame² v [T]

1.) to make someone feel ashamed

▪ It shames me to say it, but I lied.

▪ He felt shamed and humiliated by the treatment he had received.

2.) shame sb into doing sth

to force someone to do something by making them feel ashamed

▪ His wife shamed him into handing the money back.

3.) to be so much better than someone else that you make them seem bad or feel embarrassed

▪ Their training record shamed other companies.

4.) to make someone feel they have lost all honour and respect

▪ She had shamed her family name (=done something that made her family lose honour) .