self-abasement

noun

self-abase·​ment ˌself-ə-ˈbās-mənt 

plural self-abasements

: a humiliation of oneself : the act of behaving in a way that makes one seem lower or less deserving of respect

… regaled the audience with personal stories and songs that didn't stint on comedic self-deprecation while avoiding self-abasement.

—Stephen Holden

Examples of self-abasement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sad fact is: Rock’s stand-up comedy shtick relies on black self-abasement (letting his white audience hear how blacks secretly deprecate themselves). —Armond White, National Review, 23 Oct. 2024

When you’re attached to a man—and especially a man like Nick, who is not a monster but is also congenitally incapable of making a sensitive decision—love and self-abasement become closely intertwined. —Christina Newland, The Atlantic, 21 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above