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shame

[shaym] / ʃeɪm /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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So the idea was having Bernadette really be the mastermind of John’s upbringing as a way to provide a simultaneous salve for her husband’s shame about being afraid about losing out on the opportunity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Some protesters stopped police vans from advancing by standing in front of them and chanting "shame on you" and "deport the lot".

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The New York Times, using campus police documents and witness statements, laid out the timeline showing that she initially reacted with confusion and shame.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

But overriding all of this was the shame and regret he felt about his marriage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

“I won’t do anything to shame you, I promise.”

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

"What's happened is horrendous. It is a betrayal and it shames us all," one former UK Special Forces officer told Panorama.

From BBC ● May 12, 2025

It shames me all day with the ballooning total.

From Slate ● Nov. 16, 2024

“That is a disgrace. It outrages and shames me deeply,” Scholz said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2023

And, she shames her own mother for latching onto Desi customs.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2023

The fact shames him, causes him to turn briefly away.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Everyone is entitled to privacy about their bodies, and no one should be shamed for poor health.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

It found there was no single perpetrator of the practice in Britain, but "government decisions shaped the environment in which unmarried mothers were often shamed and coerced into having their children put up for adoption".

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

“I had decided to allow no room in the universe for something which shamed and frightened me.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

They could be shamed for bad behavior—even, on occasion, reap a consequence or two—and preferred dog whistles over airhorns.

From Slate ● May 6, 2026

And so we were shamed into following her, and climbed down the steps to find a passage tunneled through thick ice.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

Esther Van der Valk, part of prominent Dutch feminist group Dolle Mina, says it's also about sex positivity and reducing body shaming.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The post took off in the military town that sits on the Cumberland River, where Fort Campbell is based, and where Facebook shaming apparently still holds significant reputational sway.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

My boss told me the truth without shaming me, and showed me how to do the same for others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

An agitated Jean finds herself praying to none other than Monica Lewinsky, the patron saint of bad romantic choices, or as Langbein puts it, “of those who suffer venal public shaming and patriarchal cruelty.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

This time the stupid-fied look left Sammy and a fearedness and shaming took over.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis




Vocabulary lists containing shame


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