self-deprecating

adjective

self-dep·​re·​cat·​ing ˌself-ˈde-pri-ˌkā-tiŋ How to pronounce self-deprecating (audio)
: tending or serving to disparage or undervalue oneself
self-deprecating humor
He is far too self-deprecating … to assume the persona of a celebrity.Eve MacSweeney
self-deprecatingly adverb
… his own informal cluster of American dissident scholars, which self-deprecatingly calls itself the "consolation club" … Franklin Foer

Examples of self-deprecating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Putting on some glasses and bringing down the volume a bit, Cuban reinvented himself as a self-deprecating and stats-sharp surrogate for Harris. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2024 Unless humor is literally part of your brand image, the safest option for companies to use is self-deprecating humor. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024 Gay instantly became the show’s breakout star — the smart, self-aware and hyper-relatable one who was quick to share her insecurities or crack a self-deprecating joke. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2024 Each show follows a similar formula — a host sits behind a desk and celebrity guests tell funny anecdotes, promote their latest work, and even play self-deprecating games for audience amusement. Alena Botros, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for self-deprecating 

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-deprecating was in 1834

Dictionary Entries Near self-deprecating

Cite this Entry

“Self-deprecating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-deprecating. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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