self-destructive
adjective
self-de·struc·tive
ˌself-di-ˈstrək-tiv 
: acting or tending to harm or destroy oneself
self-destructive behavior
self-destructiveness
noun
Examples of self-destructive in a Sentence
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The White House should work with its allies in Congress to explore opportunities to walk back Biden’s price controls, as well as be careful not to chart a similarly self-destructive course.
—
Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 2025
Director Agnieszka Holland and screenwriter Christopher Hampton fashioned an intentionally distancing but stillborn love story between two miserable, self-destructive personalities who can’t live with each other but also can’t live apart.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Wiry and wired, Lee, in his almost masochistic willingness to endure pain in service of his cause, calls back to First Reformed’s self-destructive zealot.
—Judy Berman, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
The lyrics dive deep into Young’s inner world, and reveal her at her most self-destructive, but artistically at her sharpest.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 19 Sep. 2025
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Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 2025
Director Agnieszka Holland and screenwriter Christopher Hampton fashioned an intentionally distancing but stillborn love story between two miserable, self-destructive personalities who can’t live with each other but also can’t live apart.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Wiry and wired, Lee, in his almost masochistic willingness to endure pain in service of his cause, calls back to First Reformed’s self-destructive zealot.
—Judy Berman, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
The lyrics dive deep into Young’s inner world, and reveal her at her most self-destructive, but artistically at her sharpest.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-destructive
Cite this Entry
“Self-destructive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-destructive. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
self-destructive
adjective
self-de·struc·tive
-ˈstrək-tiv
: acting or tending to harm or destroy oneself
self-destructive behavior
also
: suicidal
self-destructively
adverb
self-destructiveness
noun
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