self-devouring

adjective

self-de·​vour·​ing ˌself-di-ˈvau̇-riŋ 

-dē-

: devouring or consuming oneself or itself

his self-devouring hatred

… a self-devouring nation in which just about everything seems to be for sale or lease …

—Seth Mydans

Examples of self-devouring in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bone boom lasted less than two decades, and, being self-devouring, left little trace on the landscape. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 20 July 2026

Ouroboros-like, Erdrich is in continual, self-devouring motion and thus presents a kind of constancy of transmutation — identity itself becomes a variable in the endless calculation of renewal. — Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-devouring

• devouring
• empowering
• cowering
• flowering
• glowering
• powering
• scouring
• showering
• souring
• towering