self-tor·tur·ing
ˌself-ˈtȯr-chə-riŋ 
-ˈtȯrch-riŋ
: self-tormenting
… we're not just holding onto social links with our exes because we're a bunch of self-torturing maniacs.—
Gabrielle Moss
Gabrielle Mossself-torturing thoughts
All those self-torturing questions. Why had he let her take the bus that night? Why hadn't he driven her?—Neil Darbyshire
Neil Darbyshire
plural self-torturings
: self-torture
his endless self-torturing over past mistakes
… the personal loss and emotional deprivation she had suffered in her self-torturings …—Mark Bostridge
Mark BostridgeExamples of self-torturing in a Sentence
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Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
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Noun
The self-torturing helices of thought twisting inside the young minds on the courts are no less fraught than the recursive neuroses tormenting the addicts down the hill.
—Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-torturing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-torturing. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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