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

Researchers at the University of Granada found that people who use self-defeating humor tend to have higher psychological well-being, especially in terms of happiness and, to a lesser extent, sociability. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024

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

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