self-critical

adjective

self-crit·​i·​cal ˌself-ˈkri-ti-kəl 

: inclined to find fault with oneself : critical of oneself

a self-critical perfectionist

… helping patients identify and challenge pessimistic or self-critical thoughts that cause or perpetuate depression.

—Mary A. Whooley

Examples of self-critical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is not about being hyper self-critical, by the way. — Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

That self-critical instinct has been a constant across his career. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 Mar. 2026

Claude is predicted to be morally aware, conscientious and able to be self-critical. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2026

The comment comes as AWS prepares to publish what may be the most substantive piece of self-critical research to emerge from a major cloud provider this year. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-critical

• levitical
• noncritical
• political
• subcritical
• uncritical
• analytical
• apolitical
• diacritical
• hypercritical
• hypocritical
• nonpolitical
• parasitical