Causes someone to feel embarrassed or ashamed, or instances of being dishonored or disgraced.
From Old English 'scamu' meaning shame or modesty, related to Proto-Germanic '*skamaz'. The word originally referred to a feeling of modesty that evolved to mean a painful feeling of humiliation or disgrace.
Shame is one of the most powerful social emotions—it evolved to keep humans following group rules, which is why public shaming was historically used as punishment even more than physical harm. The feeling literally makes us want to hide, and that's biology working to protect our social standing.
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