Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shamefaced

/ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.54 in modern English

Syllables
shame-faced
IPA
/ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/
21
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Bashful, showing modesty or embarrassment.

adj

Ashamed, displaying shame, especially by blushing in the face.

Example Sentences

  • "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/).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: schamefast, sċamfæst

Inflected Forms

more shamefaced (comparative) most shamefaced (superlative)

Derived Forms

shamefacedly shamefacedness unshamefaced

Phrases

shamefaced crab

Synonyms

guilty hangdog shamed sheepish

Questions

How do you pronounce shamefaced?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/.
What does shamefaced mean?
Bashful, showing modesty or embarrassment.
Where does shamefaced come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce shamefaced

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shamefaced”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shamefaced”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “shamefaced” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.