ashamed
/əˈʃeɪmd/adjective, verb
ashamed is spelled A-S-H-A-M-E-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ashamed means “Feeling shame or guilt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ashamed?
| Letters | 7: A-S-H-A-M-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,456th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ashamed?
Ashamed appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ashamed?
- /əˈʃeɪmd/
Ashamed has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ashamed.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ashamed
- more ashamed comparative
- most ashamed superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ashamed mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Feeling shame or guilt.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of ashame
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ashamed in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense feeling shame or guilt:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | honteux |
| German | beschämt |
| Portuguese | envergonhado, avergonhado |
| Spanish | avergonzado, abochornado, apenado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ashamed come from?
From Middle English ashamed, aschamed, from Old English āsċamod, past participle of Old English āsċamian (“to be ashamed”), equivalent to a- + shame + -ed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).