self-harm
noun
: the act of purposely hurting oneself (as by cutting or burning the skin) as an emotional coping mechanism
Although most cutters are young women who have been emotionally, sexually, or physically abused as children, [Marilee] Strong's research shows that this specific type of self-harm also appears in other groups.—
Maria Simson et al.
Maria Simson et al.called 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
Some have been caught encouraging self-harm, giving diet tips for eating disorders or pretending to be romantic partners.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2025
Meta made changes to its AI chatbot policies following the report and now prevents its bots from discussing subjects like self-harm, suicide and eating disorders with teens.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
The settings implemented default privacy protections and content limits for many of Instagram’s teen users, restricting posts related to violence, cosmetic procedures or self-harm.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
The chatbots should also be trained to avoid sharing information regarding suicide or self-harm and redirect users engaging in such conversations to crisis management helplines.
—PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-harm
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Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2025
Meta made changes to its AI chatbot policies following the report and now prevents its bots from discussing subjects like self-harm, suicide and eating disorders with teens.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
The settings implemented default privacy protections and content limits for many of Instagram’s teen users, restricting posts related to violence, cosmetic procedures or self-harm.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
The chatbots should also be trained to avoid sharing information regarding suicide or self-harm and redirect users engaging in such conversations to crisis management helplines.
—PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2025
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 26 Oct. 2025.
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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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