Link Centre Dictionary

shamefaced

sha·me·fa·ced

UK/ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/ uncommon

adjective

1.

extremely modest or shy

  • “cheerfully bearing reproaches but shamefaced at praise” H.O.Taylor
Similar
2.

showing a sense of shame

Synonyms
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3.

showing a sense of guilt

  • “a guilty look”
  • “the hangdog and shamefaced air of the retreating enemy” Eric Linklater
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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/).

Phrases

  • shamefaced crab

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.