What does shameable mean?
Shameable means deserving of shame or discredit. It describes conduct, decisions, failures, or events that are regarded as morally degrading, contemptible, or discreditable, and it can carry a formal or strongly critical tone. The adjective is often used after a linking verb: a politician's excuse was called shameable, or the response was widely judged shameable. It is related in meaning to words such as shameful, disgraceful, and reprehensible, but shameable often focuses more directly on something being worthy of condemnation than on the emotional quality of embarrassment associated with it. The word is especially frequent in British English, while shameful is more broadly familiar in both British and American usage.
adjectiveDeserving of shame or discredit; shameful or disgraceful.
- Deserving of shame or discredit; shameful or disgraceful.
"The council described the decision as shameable and called for an independent investigation."
"The exhibition was widely condemned as a shameable spectacle."
"He admitted that making such a remark had been shameable."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does shameable come from?
The word is formed from the longstanding English word shame together with the suffix -able, meaning "capable of being" or "liable to be." Shame itself has Germanic roots and is related to cognates such as German Schande and Dutch schande. The combination developed in English as a straightforward adjective meaning "deserving of shame," with the closely related form shamable also in use.
Related word forms
How shameable is actually used
Usually used predicatively, as in "is shameable." It is especially common in British English, although it is also understood in American English; "shameful" is often more familiar and more widely used.
Easily confused with shameable
Shameable describes conduct that deserves shame, whereas shameless describes a person or behaviour that feels no shame or shows no embarrassment about wrongdoing.