self-harm
noun
: the act of purposely hurting oneself (as by cutting or burning the skin) as an emotional coping mechanism
An acute change in mood that persists for weeks or is associated with thoughts of self-harm should not be ignored.—
John Williamson
John Williamsoncalled also self-injury, self-mutilation
self-harm
intransitive verb
self-harmed; self-harming; self-harms
teenagers who self-harm
Examples of self-harm in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In suicidal ideation or self-harm scenarios, the bot’s response was also inconsistent.
—Kaan Ozcan, NBC news, 3 Mar. 2026
Chatbots like ChatGPT have come under scrutiny as of late for the lack of guardrails their companies have in place to prevent acts of violence or self-harm.
—Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
ChatGPT Health is designed to show a crisis intervention banner when someone describes thoughts of self-harm, the researcher noted.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Meta said that, starting next week, parents who use Instagram's supervision tools will get a message — either via email, text or WhatsApp, as well as through an in-app notification — if a teen repeatedly searches for certain terms related to self-harm or suicide within a short time span.
—Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
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Kaan Ozcan, NBC news, 3 Mar. 2026
Chatbots like ChatGPT have come under scrutiny as of late for the lack of guardrails their companies have in place to prevent acts of violence or self-harm.
—Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
ChatGPT Health is designed to show a crisis intervention banner when someone describes thoughts of self-harm, the researcher noted.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Meta said that, starting next week, parents who use Instagram's supervision tools will get a message — either via email, text or WhatsApp, as well as through an in-app notification — if a teen repeatedly searches for certain terms related to self-harm or suicide within a short time span.
—Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for self-harm
Cite this Entry
“Self-harm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-harm. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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self-harm
noun
: the act of purposely hurting oneself (as by cutting or burning the skin) as an emotional coping mechanism
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