How to use shame in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, interjection, adjective

Shame means an 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. Example: “When I realized that I had hurt my friend, I felt deep shame.”

Examples of shame by meaning

nounAn uncomfortable or painful feeling due to recognition or consciousness of one's own impropriety or dishonor, or...

When I realized that I had hurt my friend, I felt deep shame.
The teenager couldn’t bear the shame of introducing his parents.

nounSomething to regret.

It was a shame not to see the show after driving all that way.
And what you do to me is a shame.1977, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Shame
Time is running out, so I renounce a spin on a Class 387 for a fast run to Paddington on another Class 800 – a shame as the weather was perfect for pictures.2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68

nounThe cause or reason of shame; that which brings reproach and ignominy.

Waiting for him to leap forward and rip off his flimsy flightsuit, exposing his shame: his illustrated body, Rimmer's cheating frame.1989, Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

nounThat which is shameful and private, especially private parts.

And he took fig-leaves and sewed (them) together, and made an apron for himself, and covered his shame.1902, R. H. Charles, transl., The book of Jubilees, or The little Genesis, London: A. and C. Black, 3:22, page 26
She turns to lift her robe, and lays it across her as though she were revealing her shame, as though she were naked.1991, Martha Graham, Blood Memory, Washington Square Press
And nobody had even offered her so much as a T-shirt to cover her shame.2010, Jill Mansell, Millie's Fling, →ISBN

nounThe capacity to be ashamed, inhibiting one from brazen behaviour; due regard for one's own moral conduct and how one is...

Don't you have any shame?

adjectiveEmbarrassed and shy, particularly because one is the subject of attention.

She says that she doesn't touch them, this is important, sometimes maybe a handshake may make them more shame, that is shy or embarrassed.1998, Robyn Lynn, Rosamund Thorpe, Debra Miles with Christine Cutts, Anne Butcher, Linda Ford, 'Murri way!': Aborigines and Torres Strait...
Aunty Gracelyn is most famous for her role in developing 'Condoman', the Indigenous superhero whose catchcry and public health message 'don’t be shame be game, use condoms!' became a defining figure of Australia's HIV and AIDS crisis.2024, Geraldine Fela, “Don't be shame, be game! Responding to HIV and AIDS in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities”, in...

adjectiveCausing embarrassment or shyness.

"A lot of the time when we want to do stuff we'll be like, 'Oh no, that's shame — I don't want to do that because I'll be on my own'," Headland told NIT.2021 June 1, “Danielle Headland seeking to inspire future Indigenous health workers”, in National Indigenous Times

verbTo cause to feel shame.

I was shamed by the teacher's public disapproval.

More sentences with shame

The child’s forehead was burning with fever. Her cheeks burned with shame.From the entry burn
The battle rapper ethered his opponent and caused him to slink away in shame.From the entry ether
It is a shame: his first day driving and he falls asleep at the wheel.From the entry at the wheel
It is a crying shame that he managed to get away with that!From the entry crying
Using that kind of language in mixed company, Mike? For shame!From the entry for shame
It's a crying shame that so much money has been wasted on this pointless political campaign.From the entry crying shame
The mind here exhibited is one untouched by pity, unstung by remorse, and uncorrected by shame.From the entry unstung
The doomsday bomb is terrifying. It puts all other nukes to shame.From the entry doomsday bomb
She buried her shame and put on a smiling face.From the entry bury
It's a dashed shame that Tarquin failed all his A-levels — we were hoping to get him into Oxford.From the entry dashed
He hung his head in shame.From the entry hang
Silence is the oxygen of shame.From the entry oxygen
I hung my head in shame.From the entry hang one's head
Some of the tourists in the upcountry might have embarrassed themselves if they'd been capable of having any shame, whining that they couldn't wait to get back to civilization.From the entry civilization
Every week the Sunday Times names and shames a mampara—generally a public figure who has said or done something so idiotic that it boggles the mind.From the entry mampara
Q: Did you vote last month? A: Yes. I voted for John Smith, and it's a shame that he lost; you can't blame me for the mess we're in now.From the entry vote
Feeling shame job is never easy, so start by giving yourself a little break.2025 April 1, “How to cope with shame job”, in ReachOut. From the entry shame job
Unfortunately, that very ethos is challenged by division and factionalism that could put protestants to shame.2024 January 11, Kelvin Holdsworth, “What’s really happening to the churches in Scotland”, in Thurible.net. From the entry charism
After a while, it begins to wear on you—the shame of it all; the exhaustion.2024 June 18, Richard Pink, Roxanne Pink, “ADHD Lie #4: I Am Stupid”, in Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them, New…. From the entry cringey-ness
SHAMED football chief Luis Rubiales has been BANNED by Fifa over his kissgate scandal.2023 August 26, Emillia Hawkins, “Disgraced Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales BANNED by Fifa after kissgate row with Jenni Hermoso”, in The Sun. From the entry Kissgate
“The prisoner will slide his bucket of shame over to the sally port.2021 September 2, Paul Simms, “The Prisoner” (4:45 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 3, episode 1, spoken by Colin…. From the entry sally port
Shame, a word I didn't know at five, had clamped my mouth shut.2020, Christie Tate, Group, page 44. From the entry butt worm
Double mother incest is the absolute best form of LGD, shame it's a niche within a niche.2019 September 13, anonymous author, 4chan, /h/. From the entry LGD
We are basically aunties on the “orh hor” bandwagon who name and shame.2019 April 25, Gemma Iso, quoting Kethlyn Gayatiri Koh, “Netizen ‘defends’ Nicholas Lim and says “Why do people enjoy playing God, in…. From the entry orh
You do not do walks of shame—you do struts of honor.2016 August 18, Stefanie Weiss, “5 sex positions for the lascivious Leo”, in SheKnows. From the entry walk of shame
It's all how you handle your 15 minutes of fame or your 15 minutes of shame.2016, Tony A. Gaskins, Jr., The Dream Chaser, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 214. From the entry 15 minutes of shame

Meaning of shame

noun An 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.
noun Something to regret.
noun Reproach incurred or suffered; dishonour; ignominy; derision.

Full definition of shame

Questions about shame in a sentence

How do you use shame in a sentence?: Shame is used as a noun, interjection and adjective. For example: “When I realized that I had hurt my friend, I felt deep shame.”
What is a short sentence with shame?: “Don't you have any shame?”
What does shame mean?: Shame means an 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.

Adapted from Wiktionary: shame (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use shame in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/shame. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.