self-defeating

adjective

self-de·feat·ing | \ ˌself-di-ˈfē-tiŋ

How to pronounce self-defeating (audio)

, -dē-\

Definition of self-defeating

: 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

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Dictionary Entries near self-defeating

self-dedication

self-definition

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Time Traveler for self-defeating

The first known use of self-defeating was in 1812

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More Definitions for self-defeating

self-defeating

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of self-defeating

: meant to solve a problem but actually causing the same or another problem : causing more problems than it solves

: preventing you from doing or achieving something

See the full definition for self-defeating in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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