Learn English – Word for the emotion behind “D’oh!”

single-word-requests

What is the name of the emotion that you feel when you accidentally make a mistake? Such as when you clumsily drop a bowl and it shatters? In the Simpsons, Homer says "D'oh!" when this sort of thing happens.

I don't think it's "regret", because you didn't do it on purpose. "Chagrined", perhaps? Is there a more common word for this emotion?

Best Answer

While I think your suggested chagrin may be most on point, you also might use

  • embarrassment
  • humiliation
  • mortification
  • discomfiture
  • vexation
  • discomposure

In a sense, D'oh is a sort of onomatopoetic representation of the slapping of the forehead while exclaiming, I feel like a dope!

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