shamefaced
/ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/
"shamefaced" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shamefaced” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Bashful, showing modesty or embarrassment.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shamefaced · shamefaced · English
shamefaced · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shamefaced |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “shamefaced” in English
Rare enough to double-check
shamefaced is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for shamefaced in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Alteration (due to folk etymology: shame + faced) of shamefast, from Middle English schamefast, schamfast, sceomefest, from Old English sċamfæst (“modest”), equivalent to shame + fast. Synchronically with -faced (/ˈfeɪst/). The correct English form is shamefaced, spelled S-H-A-M-E-F-A-C-E-D.
Definition
- 1Bashful, showing modesty or embarrassment.
- 2Ashamed, displaying shame, especially by blushing in the face.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how shamefaced appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Youth is not glorious; it is shamefaced. It is a time of self-searching and self-exacerbation.
Etymology
Alteration (due to folk etymology: shame + faced) of shamefast, from Middle English schamefast, schamfast, sceomefest, from Old English sċamfæst (“modest”), equivalent to shame + fast. Synchronically with -faced (/ˈfeɪst/).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.