as in humble
formal
meant to make yourself or the things you do seem unimportant
He spoke in a self-deprecating tone. self-deprecating humor
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Recent Examples of self-deprecating
The adorable, self-deprecating Rahul Mandal, a research scientist from Rotherham, won season 9 of GBBO.
—
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
But in the extreme, self-deprecating reactions to compliments can prevent you from seeing the truth about yourself and your capabilities.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
For a filmmaker once renowned for his grandiosity, the director has always been surprisingly self-deprecating and conflicted in his own assessments of his work.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
The lighthearted roast instantly went viral, offering a rare moment of vulnerability—and self-deprecating humor—for Smith, who has increasingly brought his family into his programming.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for self-deprecating
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
But in the extreme, self-deprecating reactions to compliments can prevent you from seeing the truth about yourself and your capabilities.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
For a filmmaker once renowned for his grandiosity, the director has always been surprisingly self-deprecating and conflicted in his own assessments of his work.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
The lighthearted roast instantly went viral, offering a rare moment of vulnerability—and self-deprecating humor—for Smith, who has increasingly brought his family into his programming.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for self-deprecating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-deprecating
Adjective
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Wilco’s prolific frontman has described his new triple LP as his humble effort to push back against the overwhelming darkness of life in the 2020s.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Berkus uses a special ceramic jar to boost the storage of something as humble as Q-tips, for example.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Doherty, 30, is playing meek flower shop assistant Seymour in the treasured musical, about a strange and unusual plant that feeds only on human flesh and blood.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
18 Sep. 2025
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What threatened to be a meek, straight-sets exit for the 13th seed went full-metal crazy on match point down when Bonzi was interrupted from serving it out after a photographer absent-mindedly walked onto the court.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-deprecating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-deprecating. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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