self-defeating

adjective

self-de·​feat·​ing ˌself-di-ˈfē-tiŋ 

-dē-

: serving or tending to defeat oneself or itself : counterproductive: such as

a

: acting to defeat its own purpose

a self-defeating argument

You kind of realize that violence can be a self-defeating strategy, because it just gives the other guy an incentive to attack you back in revenge.

—Stephen Pinker

b

: being or involving an attitude of defeatism

Procrastinators tend to be more stressed than other people—even before they start procrastinating. According to a recent study, that's possibly because they have self-defeating thoughts like, "I'm simply too stupid to benefit from more studying, so I'll just hang out on Facebook."

—Shana Lebowitz

Examples of self-defeating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Leveraging private capital will help eliminate the ironic and self-defeating need to borrow from these same adversaries to close our budget shortfalls. —Charles Beames, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Friedan’s charmingly self-aware prose provides a window into how feminist ideas were translated into an agenda—and a peek into the mind of one of America’s most effective, if occasionally self-defeating, reformers. —Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024

In contrast, self-defeating or aggressive humor can have a negative impact on relationships, especially if used too frequently or harshly. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024

For the United States, as the world’s biggest economy, and its second-largest exporter, that would be a self-defeating outcome. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

self-defeating

adjective

self-de·​feat·​ing

ˌself-di-ˈfēt-iŋ

: acting to defeat its own purpose