Shamefaced
//ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst// adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Bashful, showing modesty or embarrassment.
"Youth is not glorious; it is shamefaced. It is a time of self-searching and self-exacerbation."
- 2 Ashamed, displaying shame, especially by blushing in the face.
Adjective
- 1 showing a sense of guilt wordnet
- 2 showing a sense of shame wordnet
- 3 extremely modest or shy wordnet
Example
More examples"Youth is not glorious; it is shamefaced. It is a time of self-searching and self-exacerbation."
Etymology
Alteration (due to folk etymology: shame + faced) of shamefast, from Middle English schamefast, schamfast, sceomefest, from Old English sċamfæst (“modest”), equivalent to shame + fast. Synchronically with -faced (/ˈfeɪst/).
Related phrases
More for "shamefaced"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.