Shameful vs Ashamed: Understanding the Difference
Shameful and ashamed are both related to the feeling of shame but are used differently in English.
Shameful is an adjective that describes something deserving of shame or that can cause a feeling of shame because it is bad, dishonourable, or disgraceful. It is used to describe actions, situations, or behaviours, rather than the feeling itself:
✅ It was a shameful act of dishonesty.
✅ The crowd's disrespectful behaviour towards the speaker was shameful.
✅ Publishing someone's personal information without consent is a shameful invasion of privacy.
✅ The company's exploitation of its workers is a shameful practice that needs to be stopped.
Ashamed is also an adjective, but it describes the feeling experienced by a person when they are embarrassed or guilty because of their own or someone else's behaviour. It is an internal state, a response to something that is considered shameful:
✅ I felt ashamed after lying to my friend.
✅ He was deeply ashamed of how he had reacted in anger.
✅ She felt ashamed for having gossiped about her friend's personal life.
✅ I'm ashamed that I didn't stand up for the new student when he was being bullied.
Learners of English often mistakenly use shameful in situations that require ashamed:
✅ She felt deeply ashamed after realising her mistake in front of the entire class.
❌ She felt deeply shameful after realising her mistake in front of the entire class.
✅ The boy felt ashamed for lying to his parents and promised to tell the truth from then on.
❌ The boy felt shameful for lying to his parents and promised to tell the truth from then on.
✅ He was ashamed of his behaviour at the party and apologised to his friends the next day.
❌ He was shameful of his behaviour at the party and apologised to his friends the next day.
✅ Despite her low score, her coach told her there was no reason to feel ashamed, as she had given her best effort.
❌ Despite her low score, her coach told her there was no reason to feel shameful, as she had given her best effort.
In summary, shameful is used to describe something that causes shame, while ashamed describes the emotional state of a person who feels shame.
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Examples from the Media
I've done some shameful things to sell my books. But there's a line even I can't cross. —The Guardian (2024)
"It is shameful that our leaders have allowed widespread poverty of young people to continue," said Michael Polanyi of the Children's Aid Society of Toronto, one of six community groups that began comparing child poverty rates in cities across the country in 2014. —Toronto Star (2015)
I've spent a significant amount of time in my life crying in public, and I used to feel very ashamed about it. In 2020, I decided to embrace my tears and start keeping my "crying diaries." Now I feel more connected to my tears. I also found out that for me, crying is one of the most graceful forms of bodily expression. —The Washington Post (2021)
Use your privilege to its full potential – everyone benefits when you do: As a society, we should want people to enjoy their privilege, not feel ashamed of it. —The Sydney Morning Herald (2024)
Practice
Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.
1. They were shameful/ashamed to admit that they had been wrong about the situation.
2. After realising his mistake, he was too shameful/ashamed to apologise.
3. It is shameful/ashamed how the park has been littered with rubbish after the festival.
4. The runner was shameful/ashamed when he failed the doping test and let his fans down.
5. It was shameful/ashamed that the city had not provided adequate support for the homeless during the winter.
6. I was shameful/ashamed of myself for being jealous of my colleague's success.
7. The way the team conducted itself after the loss was shameful/ashamed; sportsmanship seemed to be forgotten.
8. The community was shameful/ashamed that it had not recognised the needs of its elderly residents sooner.
9. The athlete was shameful/ashamed when he was caught cheating and faced a suspension from the sport.
10. That's a shameful/ashamed waste of food!
Answer Key
1. ashamed 2. ashamed 3. shameful 4. ashamed 5. shameful 6. ashamed 7. shameful 8. ashamed 9. ashamed 10. shameful
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