shown
- 1Past participle of show.
The results have shown a steady improvement over the year.
Several paintings were shown to the public for the first time.
Note
A participle built with the old -n ending. Middle English already had schewen as a past participle, and the modern form is simply show plus -n. It pairs with have for the perfect (I had shown him the report) and with be for the passive (the report had been shown to him). The simple past is a different form, showed, so a bare "I shown" is never standard.
shown is a form of show
show, verb: To display something or make someone see it, by holding it out or pointing to it. Full entry
- Spelling
- show → shown: irregular (no -ed)
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
"Shown" is the past participle of "show," formed from Middle English "schauen, schewen," an alternative form of the past participle of "schewen" ("to show"). It corresponds to "show" plus the ending "-n."