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
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
Shana LebowitzExamples of self-defeating in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Stories from three places — rural Salinas, suburban Orange County and Los Angeles, the state’s biggest city — show how a shelter system that’s supposed to offer a safe haven instead fuels a self-defeating cycle of homelessness.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2025
Forcing the State Department to cancel subscriptions to the press just the latest example of petty, self-defeating behavior by a media figure who should know better.
—Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 21 Feb. 2025
The director, Frederik Louis Hviid, opens the movie with a display of self-defeating virtuosity: a robbery filmed in a single take entirely from the inside of an armored van.
—Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
The misguided effort against advanced forms of energy has nothing to do with an America First policy but instead represents self-defeating culture war politics against energy that canachieve American energy dominance.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025
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Calmatters, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2025
Forcing the State Department to cancel subscriptions to the press just the latest example of petty, self-defeating behavior by a media figure who should know better.
—Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 21 Feb. 2025
The director, Frederik Louis Hviid, opens the movie with a display of self-defeating virtuosity: a robbery filmed in a single take entirely from the inside of an armored van.
—Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
The misguided effort against advanced forms of energy has nothing to do with an America First policy but instead represents self-defeating culture war politics against energy that canachieve American energy dominance.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-defeating
Cite this Entry
“Self-defeating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-defeating. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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