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shamefaced

UK/ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/US/ˈʃeɪmˌfeɪst/
adjectiveC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Shamefaced means showing embarrassment at what you have done. It is written on the face before anything is said.

It describes appearance and manner, so a shamefaced apology or a shamefaced grin, and the second is the more interesting since it admits the fault and asks to be forgiven at the same time. Sheepish is the near synonym and is lighter. The word looks as though it should be about shame, and its actual origin is an old word meaning modest, which shifted over time.

Definitions of shamefaced

  1. 1adjectiveshamefacedShowing embarrassment or shame at something you have done.C2

    “He came back shamefaced with the broken handle.”

Also accepted in games: sheepish

Where it comes from

  1. Old English

    sċamfæst — modest

  2. Middle English

    schamefast

  3. English, today

    shamefaced

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/).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 14 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word