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English Vocabulary


Is Gymglish right with these synonyms ?

Hartwig
User since 2010
Posts: 2

20 Nov. 2010





Towards the end of the dialogue, Luna tells Polly that no one should 'feel ashamed' for suggesting something silly.
Using the context of the phrase to help you, choose the word below which does NOT share a very similar meaning with ashamed.
Embarrassed
Unintelligent
This is the only choice which does not share a similar meaning with the word 'ashamed'. Someone who feels 'unintelligent' might also feel 'ashamed', but the two words are not synonymous.
Humiliated
Self-conscious
'Self-conscious' does share a similar sense with the word 'ashamed'. Though the two words shouldn't be considered synonyms, their meanings are very close.


Excerpt: Well, so that nobody feels ashamed for suggesting something silly. Everyone should be able to express their ideas freely, whenever they want, without being censored or ridiculed.


My Question: In what way does the word 'self-concious' share a similar meaning or a close meaning with 'ashamed' ?


Also the word 'humiliated' doesn't fit in my opinion.


What do you think ?


Best regards
HB

9 comments

  • User since 2010
    Posts: 2

    20 Nov. 2010

    Luna: Well, so that nobody feels ashamed for suggesting something silly. Everyone should be able to express their ideas freely, whenever they want, without being censored or ridiculed.


    Ok, in the context above, I can see that if you feel
    'ashamed' you are or you feel something approaching
    'humiliated' . But not the other way round: 'If you are being humiliated, you don't have to feel ashamed
    therefore. Right or wrong ?
    Regards
    HB
  • User since 2006
    Posts: 2715

    20 Nov. 2010

    Hi Mr Hartwig Baussman,


    I feel you are a 'hardy boss' daring to call GymGlish grammarians into question.
    If I am not mistaken you agree that 'unintelignent' doesn't share any meaning with ashamed.
    But you have second thoughts, if not disagreement, about 2 out of 3 other words that GymGlish considers as possible synonyms. From the outset I'd like to tell that I agree with the GymGlish teachers rather than with you. So, before getting to a justification of my opinion, I needed to be backed by more qualified experts than a learner of my kind. That's why I looked up in dictionaries (Answers.com - Webster's - Collins - Oxford, etc.)


    What are the possible meanings of 'ashamed'?
    1. feeling shame, guilt or disgrace.
    2. feeling inferior or unworthy or embarrassed. Ex. 'ashamed of my torn coat' (Answers.com).
    3. RESTRAINED by anticipation of shame. Ex. 'he was feeling ashamed to beg' (Webster's))


    Your first question
    "In what way does the word 'self-concious' share a similar meaning or a close meaning with 'ashamed' ?
    Among other meanings, self-conscious is said of someone who feels socially ill at ease, who is socially inept through embarrassment or shyness. Ex. 'The self-conscious teenager sat alone during lunch.'(Answers.com)
    Mind you here, Hartwig. In everyday speech 'self-conscious' rarely tallies with the philosophical meaning of the word that is 'having knowledge of one's own existence'.
    So, ashamed is often synonym with embarrassed (2d meaning in the list here above).


    The other word you express reservations about: humiliated.
    "If you are being humiliated, you don't have to feel ashamed therefore. Right or wrong ?" did you say.
    Of course, if you are actually being humiliated, you have no longer to restrain yourself "by anticipation of shame" as was the beggar in the example (3rd case in the list above). To my mind, being humiliated you may possibly not feel guilty but you may for sure be ashamed of being humiliated - off the record but so more so as you are humiliated in front of everybody. (first case in the list above)


    So, I for one haven't a single remark to pass to the GymGlish lessons writers.


    What's on your mind, Hartwig? Would you tone down your disagreement? Or do you think I am talking rubbish?


    Whichever reply you make, there is one thing I am in accord with you: We should never take things as they look like at first approach. We must be suspicious of a-prioris that fulfill our everyday life. For my part, I try to follow your fellow countryman (I bet you are German) Edmund Husserl for whom any phenomenon can be treacherous, even the GymGlish statements.


    Hope to hear from you,
    Joe
  • User since 2008
    Posts: 499

    22 Nov. 2010

    I don't want to appear uncivil by disrupting the conversation between two parties. But allow me to interfere and intersperse some deliberations I have been ruminating about for quite a while. Mind you, this is not about to call anybodies decision or thoughts into question. I just want to make a point that the thread openers objections have a legitimate cause, and a dispute about the suspected difference between 'humiliation' and 'shame' is worthwhile.


    Humiliation is widely considered as a deprivation of dignity and self-respect inflicting on us by other individuals or groups. On any account, the act of humiliation presupposes the involvement of others, either by verbal or physical violence or others actions capable of debasing the dignity or self-respect of an individual. Humiliation is never considered as an act we can inflict on ourselves.


    Apart from the necessary involvement of others, humiliation also presupposes a damaging effect on our personal integrity, which we usually refer to as shame. Being ashamed is a so-called 'state of condition', and without being ashamed by violent actions of others we cannot talk of humiliation. Hence, shame is a crucial and substantial part of humiliation, a part on the person's side who is humiliated, nevertheless 'humiliation' and 'shame' are not the same by definition.


    Therefore, defining humiliation and shame as tantamount to each other is arguable and delicate and can be justified only on a context-to-context base. If the humiliating involvement of others is presupposed in a specific context, it is justified to use 'humiliation' and 'shame' as synonyms. Suppose we have a situation in which we assume that the utterance of ideas or thoughts most probably entails an act of humiliation by others, we can anticipate being humiliated and therefore feeling ashamed. Based on this premiss, the equalization of 'being humiliated' and 'being ashamed' is legitimate, even though 'humiliation' and 'shame' are not synonymous by definition.


    Applied to the case and its context, GymGlish has a tenable argument for equalizing 'feeling ashamed' and 'feeling humiliated' by assuming that making silly proposals will entail humiliation and consequently the feel of shame. Conversely, the thread openers dispute is comprehensible in the sense that both terms denote different states respectively actions.
  • User since 2009
    Posts: 613

    26 Nov. 2010

    It is not fair ! I have also a german name just as Herr Baussman, but nobody noticed it :-(
  • User since 2006
    Posts: 2715

    27 Nov. 2010

    Dear Fräulein Müller,


    You were possibly right in thinking that I should be ashamed for not having told I noticed the great nation you come under. Though I had noticed. May I now congratulate you for that personal feature, highly deserving of respect, the respect due to a goddess - namely from screwballs of my kind.


    All regulars on this forum are longing for reading you, Scynthia. They intend to greet you with a straightforward Guten Tag.
    Read you soon?
    Joe
  • User since 2009
    Posts: 613

    28 Nov. 2010

    Oh thank-you Joe, for you and for your kultur. Before reading you, I thought a Husserl was a breed of dog.
  • User since 2010
    Posts: 34

    9 Dec. 2010

    Hallo mates,

    From Hartwig Baussmann:
    'If you are being humiliated, you don't have to feel ashamed therefore. Right or wrong ?
    HB

     
    Shakespeare said:
    To be or not to be. That's the question.
    Lord Capablanca says:
    To humilate or not to humilate. That's what makes me ashamed.
    It's not fine using "to humilate" in a progressive form like verbs as "to love, to be, to support, to see, to frighten...", just to name a few. Applying it though the verb gets another meaning, think of that stupid ad from McDonalds. For "to humilate" it might be then a speciell treatment in SM communities. So, in this manner that utterance above could be understood.
    The word "humilating" is an own adjective means to make sb. ashamed or stupid as per Oxford Dictionary.
    So I can say:
    Sandy, please helps me! The truth about me is so humilating, has made me so ashamed (or even humilated). I've no more idea if I'm lad or lass.
    Harry, your sentence isn't wrong, but ambiguous. "Language is the source of misunderstandings." Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


    TTFN in GGywood!
  • User since 2009
    Posts: 613

    9 Dec. 2010

    This morning I said to myself : "Scynthia, you must not remain silly and uncultured" so I typed "husserl" in the google window and I have seen : he was a mathematician AND a philosopher, Icarus and Joe alltogether.
  • User since 2008
    Posts: 253

    15 Feb. 2011

    "Shame, shame, shame… shame on you (shame on you)
    If you can't dance too (if you can't dance too)
    I say shame, shame, shame, shame,
    Shame, shame, shame… shame on you (shame on you)
    If you can't dance too (if you can't dance too)"


    Song by Dynamic Seven ( 1983)


    Oh, shame on me, dear fellows.
    Vic

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