shame

/ʃeɪm/

//ʃeɪm// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shame" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shame” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,761. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,761
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An uncomfortable or painful feeling due to recognition or consciousness of one's own impropriety or dishonor, or something being exposed that should have been kept private.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shame · shame · English

shame · rank #2,761 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,761
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH roof

Nearest frequency peer: roof (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “shame”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “shame” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shame vs she
60% similar
shame vs SME
0% similar
shame vs some
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shame
PropertyValue
Headwordshame
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃeɪm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,761
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shame” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).shamelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “roof” (#2,760), “ships” (#2,762), “roads” (#2,759). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around shame (IPA /ʃeɪm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,761 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for shame, with forms such as "hsame", "sahme", and "shaem". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "she", "SME", "some", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schame, from Old English sċamu, from Proto-Germanic *skamō. Cognates *German Scham (“shame”) *German Low German Schaam (“shame, shamefacedness”) *Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish skam (“shame”) *Faroese skomm (“shame,… The correct English form is shame, spelled S-H-A-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An uncomfortable or painful feeling due to recognition or consciousness of one's own impropriety or dishonor, or something being exposed that should have been kept private.
  2. 2
    Something to regret.
  3. 3
    Reproach incurred or suffered; dishonour; ignominy; derision.
  4. 4
    The cause or reason of shame; that which brings reproach and ignominy.
  5. 5
    That which is shameful and private, especially private parts.
  6. 6
    The capacity to be ashamed, inhibiting one from brazen behaviour; due regard for one's own moral conduct and how one is perceived by others; restraint, moderation, decency.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shame appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When I realized that I had hurt my friend, I felt deep shame.
  2. The teenager couldn’t bear the shame of introducing his parents.

Etymology

From Middle English schame, from Old English sċamu, from Proto-Germanic *skamō. Cognates *German Scham (“shame”) *German Low German Schaam (“shame, shamefacedness”) *Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish skam (“shame”) *Faroese skomm (“shame, dishonour”) *Icelandic skömm (“shame”) *Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌼𐌰 (skama, “shame”).

Synonyms

dishonordishonorhumiliationmortificationpityalso: Thesaurus:shameabasementdisgracedishonourembarrassmenthurtignominyobloquyopprobriumshameunhonour

Antonyms

honorexaltation

This word in other languages

vergüenza(Español)honte(Français)Scham(Deutsch)vergonha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsame
  • sahme
  • shaem
  • shamme
  • shhame
  • shmae
  • sshame

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shame - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hsame2sahme2shaem2shamme1shhame1shmae2sshame1
Edit distance from "shame"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shame"?
"shame" is spelled S-H-A-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃeɪm/.
What does "shame" mean?
As a noun, "shame" means: An uncomfortable or painful feeling due to recognition or consciousness of one's own impropriety or dishonor, or something being exposed that should have been kept private.
What words are commonly confused with "shame"?
"shame" is commonly confused with "she", "SME", "some". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shame"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shame" is /ʃeɪm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shame"?
From Middle English schame, from Old English sċamu, from Proto-Germanic *skamō. Cognates *German Scham (“shame”) *German Low German Schaam (“shame, shamefacedness”) *Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish skam (“shame”) *Faroese skom... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shame", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ships#2,762roads#2,759plate#2,751panel#2,749

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

manner7 variantsdates7 variantsIrish7 variantsmulti7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "shame". Here's where to go from here.

  • "shame" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "she". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,761 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list