: pity for oneself
especially : a self-indulgent dwelling on one's own sorrows or misfortunes
self-pitying adjective
self-pityingly adverb

Examples of self-pity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But that factor also contributes to the queasy feeling in High & Low that the subject is less defined by humbled remorse than self-pitying martyrdom. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2023 The butterfly is meant to symbolize her fairy godmother, who helps Carolina get rid of self-pity to take control of her life. Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2023 The process, at times, has left him vacillating from tears of self-pity to intense anger and severe depression. Phil McCausland, NBC News, 6 Aug. 2023 But even their sweet, tentative romance, predicated on mutual curiosity and real attraction, can’t help but bring out Ben’s ugly side, from his reflexive self-pity to his objectifying, self-loathing assumptions about interracial coupledom. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023 Television Miranda and Che take L.A. in ‘And Just Like That’ ... and their actors have some theories about fan backlash June 29, 2023 Miranda is not amused by Che’s self-pity. Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2023 Never mind that country music is — or was, a few decades back — the genre people could count on to commiserate in self-pity. Tom Roland, Billboard, 19 July 2023 There’s no way any of these characters are self-pitying. Simran Hans, New York Times, 14 June 2023 In several letters, Gunn apologizes for talking about himself at all, and often equates self-expression with self-pity. Matthew Bevis, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-pity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-pity was in 1604

Dictionary Entries Near self-pity

Cite this Entry

“Self-pity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-pity. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

self-pity

noun
ˈself-ˈpit-ē
: pity for oneself
especially : too much attention to one's misfortunes
self-pitying
-ē-iŋ
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on self-pity

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!