self-deprecating
adjective
self-dep·re·cat·ing
ˌself-ˈde-pri-ˌkā-tiŋ 
: tending or serving to disparage or undervalue oneself
self-deprecating humor
He is far too self-deprecating … to assume the persona of a celebrity.—
Eve MacSweeney
Eve MacSweeney
self-deprecatingly
adverb
… his own informal cluster of American dissident scholars, which self-deprecatingly calls itself the "consolation club" …
—Franklin Foer
Franklin Foer
Examples of self-deprecating in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When Arnett’s character attempts open-mic standup at a comedy club with confessional, self-deprecating material, a whole new world opens for him.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2025
When Arnett’s character attempts open-mic standup at a comedy club with confessional, self-deprecating material, a whole new world opens for him.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
But while Ronald Reagan could sometimes be disarmingly self-deprecating, Team Trump is far too threatened by everything to tolerate humor.
—Merrill Markoe, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
While the award proved to be an emotional milestone for Kimmel, the host also managed to squeeze in some self-deprecating humor.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-deprecating
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Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2025
When Arnett’s character attempts open-mic standup at a comedy club with confessional, self-deprecating material, a whole new world opens for him.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
But while Ronald Reagan could sometimes be disarmingly self-deprecating, Team Trump is far too threatened by everything to tolerate humor.
—Merrill Markoe, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
While the award proved to be an emotional milestone for Kimmel, the host also managed to squeeze in some self-deprecating humor.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-deprecating
Cite this Entry
“Self-deprecating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-deprecating. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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