shame

shame

(shām)

n.

a. A painful emotion caused by the awareness of having done something wrong or foolish: felt shame for cheating on the exam.

b. Respect for propriety or morality: Have you no shame?

c. Psychiatry A pervasive, negative emotional state, usually originating in childhood, marked by chronic self-reproach and a sense of personal failure.

shame

A distressing emotion involving a strong sense of having transgressed against a social or moral code. Shame is always relative to current mores or to the upbringing of the person concerned.