self-laceration
noun
self-lac·er·a·tion
ˌself-ˌla-sə-ˈrā-shən 
plural self-lacerations
: the act or an instance of lacerating oneself: such as
a
: the act or action of cutting or tearing one's own flesh
… the self-laceration often results in sustained or permanent visible disfigurements to the body …—
Armando Favazza
Armando Favazza
b
: the act or action of rebuking or tormenting oneself
Here his self-laceration finds expression in a series of adjectives that come tumbling out …—Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom
self-lacerating
adjective
a self-lacerating autobiography
his self-lacerating honesty
… as she launched an unexpected second career as an acerbic, self-lacerating chronicler of Hollywood excess …
—Matt Schudel
Matt Schudel
Examples of self-laceration in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Pirnot’s play contained plenty of despair and self-laceration at the economic realities of playwriting, contraposed with sheer delight in what Greenspan can pull off onstage.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025
The self-laceration is done on Damon Albarn Time, though, as Idles’ usual anxious guitar rave-ups are slowed and stripped here to a skipping, reggae-ish crawl, as synths squeak in the background and Albarn offers support via his forever-distant, disembodied backing vocals.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 7 Nov. 2025
That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
—Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
George, on the other hand, was a delightful, thrilling roller-coaster ride of fun and games, self-laceration and self-loathing, but nevertheless with a happyish ending.
—New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023
As with Nathan for You, Fielder mixes actual service, slightly mocking exposure and full-on self-laceration, though usually with some compassion for the human condition.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 June 2023
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Sara Holdren, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025
The self-laceration is done on Damon Albarn Time, though, as Idles’ usual anxious guitar rave-ups are slowed and stripped here to a skipping, reggae-ish crawl, as synths squeak in the background and Albarn offers support via his forever-distant, disembodied backing vocals.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 7 Nov. 2025
That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
—Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
George, on the other hand, was a delightful, thrilling roller-coaster ride of fun and games, self-laceration and self-loathing, but nevertheless with a happyish ending.
—New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023
As with Nathan for You, Fielder mixes actual service, slightly mocking exposure and full-on self-laceration, though usually with some compassion for the human condition.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Self-laceration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-laceration. Accessed 17 Dec. 2025.
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