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
Masochism, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980, is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of self-defeating behavior.
—Judith Joseph, Contributor, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2025
One possible explanation for this self-defeating behavior is that the Trump Administration doesn’t actually care about winning—at least, not about winning in court.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
But sometimes the optics make the self-defeating nature of the task clearer than others.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2025
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
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Judith Joseph, Contributor, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2025
One possible explanation for this self-defeating behavior is that the Trump Administration doesn’t actually care about winning—at least, not about winning in court.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
But sometimes the optics make the self-defeating nature of the task clearer than others.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2025
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
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 21 Apr. 2025.
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