Meaning & use
be ashamed of yourself
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
Used to tell someone they should feel embarrassed or guilty about something wrong they have done.
Grammar: A fixed phrase; change 'yourself' to match the person: 'of himself', 'of myself'.
Patterns
- be ashamed of yourself for doing something
- You should be ashamed of yourself.
You lied to your grandmother — you should be ashamed of yourself.
He was ashamed of himself for not helping when he had the chance.
She said she was ashamed of herself for getting angry so quickly.
Common combinations
- be ashamed of yourself for
- You should be ashamed of yourself for treating her that way.
- You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
- You ought to be ashamed of yourself, shouting at a child.
- be ashamed of himself
- He was ashamed of himself after the argument.
- be ashamed of myself
- I felt ashamed of myself for forgetting her birthday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- feel guilty
- Focuses on the inner feeling of having done wrong; 'be ashamed of yourself' is more often said by someone else as a rebuke.
- be embarrassed
- Means feeling shy or awkward, not necessarily because of doing something wrong, so it is weaker and less moral.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: be ashamed of yourself or be shy of?
be ashamed of yourself vs be shy of
'Be shy of' means to be nervous or unwilling about something, not to feel guilty.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Yourself' must match the subject 'you', so 'You should be ashamed of yourself' is correct. The other options mix 'yourself' with he/she/I.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “be ashamed of yourself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.