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

When [Lilia] Vu missed the cut in four of her next five starts … she knew the problem wasn't the clubs in her bag or flaws in her technique. The obstacle was the self-defeating thoughts that dominated her mind and eroded her confidence.

—Helene Elliott

Examples of self-defeating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Advertisement China has long pondered surgical strikes against Taiwan’s leadership, though any such move is likely to be self-defeating, given the island is a sustained democracy. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 5 Jan. 2026

Many New Year’s resolutions fail not because people lack motivation, but because fixating on a goal can initiate a self-defeating cycle of avoidance. —Richard A. Friedman, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026

Europe’s Trump strategy, in other words, is a self-defeating trap. —Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2025

But will Republicans be able to summon the pragmatism to take advantage of this self-defeating Democratic disarray? —U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-defeating

• overeating
• overheating
• superheating
• accreting
• competing
• completing
• concreting
• defeating
• deleting
• depleting
• entreating
• preheating

Kids Definition

self-defeating

adjective

self-de·​feat·​ing

ˌself-di-ˈfēt-iŋ

: acting to defeat its own purpose