What does shame mean?
Word: Shame
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Shame means the bad feeling you get when you know you have done something wrong or silly. It can also mean something sad or unlucky, such as a match being rained off.
Synonyms: guilt, embarrassment, disgrace
Antonyms: honour
How do you spell shame?
Syllables: shame
Tricky part: Shame uses the pattern of game and name: the e at the end is silent but makes the a long.
Watch out for: shaem, sheme, shamme
Memory tip: Shame is spelt like name with sh in place of n: sh + ame.
Idioms and Phrases
- put to shame: to be so much better than something that it looks poor Example: "Ananya's neat handwriting puts mine to shame."
Shame in a sentence
Example 1: He felt shame after telling a lie to his best friend.
Example 2: It is a shame that the picnic was cancelled.
Example 3: Everyone makes mistakes, so there is no shame in trying again.
Fun Fact
Shamefaced, a word for looking embarrassed, was once shamefast, with fast meaning held tight, as in stuck fast.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
shame
a) sorrow
b) pride
c) fear
d) worry
Show answer
b) pride. Pride is the warm feeling of having done well, the opposite of shame.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) embarased
b) disgrase
c) apolagy
d) shame
Show answer
d) shame. Embarrassed, disgrace and apology are all misspelt here; shame is the only correct one.
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
shame
a) fule
b) ful
c) full
d) fol
Show answer
b) ful. Shameful means bringing shame, and its ending ful has only one l, as in careful.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
mehas
a) sahme
b) shame
c) hsame
d) shmae
Show answer
b) shame. The word starts with sh and keeps the m between the a and the e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Kiran felt shame afterwards. What is he most likely to have done?
a) won a spelling prize
b) finished a hard puzzle
c) helped a lost child
d) told his teacher a lie
Show answer
d) told his teacher a lie
2. Which sentence uses shame to mean 'a pity'?
a) It's a shame you missed the party.
b) There is no shame in asking for help.
c) She felt shame after breaking the vase.
d) He hung his head in shame.
Show answer
a) It's a shame you missed the party.
