adjective

• Feeling or expressing shame or embarrassment.

  ‘all the boys looked shamefaced’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Yet this is not a film that apologises, like a shamefaced school boy, for its country's past.’
  • ‘Despite the shamefaced grins that characterised the victims' interviews, there was no mistaking their anger.’
  • ‘The 600 guests went home, but she returned, slightly shamefaced, and landed herself a movie deal.’
  • ‘It is the scientific community and the government's somewhat shamefaced approach to animal research that allows activists to make their impact.’
  • ‘He eventually made it to the meeting looking shamefaced but the fact he left the pub at all just goes to show how thoroughly modern this new breed of e-hack really is.’
  • ‘Anyone lighting fireworks in a public place faces arrest and prosecution, so let's look forward to a few shamefaced souls in court.’
  • ‘Lynch wrote a notoriously vengeful poem, full of vicious curses, a story he tells against himself in shamefaced penance.’
  • ‘‘Uhh… I know,’ he replied, feeling a little shamefaced.’
  • ‘‘I know,’ she said, a little shamefaced, ‘but I must take a picture of this.’’
  • ‘During his detention, he became a cause célèbre among tech activists, who held large protests outside the offices until shamefaced executives dropped their complaint against him.’
  • ‘Feeling remarkably like a shamefaced puppy, she trod reluctantly into the kitchen and gave them both that icy what-the-hell-do-you-want look she'd perfected by ninth grade.’
  • ‘After this, the first one looks shamefaced and says, ‘Girls, I've got a confession to make.’’
  • ‘‘Well, I, uhm, don't know what I'm going to tell Ricky,’ I admit, shamefaced.’
  • ‘Next day the shamefaced deputies of the Riksdag were forced to walk between lines of troops with fixed bayonets to assemble in a Parliament Hall surrounded by field guns, each with an artillerist standing behind it with a lighted taper.’
  • ‘‘Sorry Mrs. Young,’ chorused the others dully, looking slightly shamefaced, and Jesse redder than before.’
  • ‘A grin spread over Michelle's face, snapping out of her thoughts to look at Heath, though she completely missed the look of shamefaced hurt that washed over his features.’
  • ‘But Nick was already looking shamefaced and cold.’
  • ‘I smothered a laugh as my dad suddenly stopped midway through his angry tirade directed at a group of shamefaced security officers, and slowly pivoted his head in our direction.’
  • ‘They narrowed at Adam, but they didn't contain their previous venom, and Adam glared right back at her, and she turned away, shamefaced.’

  Synonyms

  ashamed, abashed, sheepish, guilty, conscience-stricken, guilt-ridden, contrite, sorry, remorseful, repentant, penitent, hangdog, regretful, rueful, apologetic

  View synonyms