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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-deprecating
That’s not true, but the comedian, 69, is prone to self-deprecating humor.
—
Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Here is the regular guy who loves shooting hoops, who is hopeless with a hammer, who loves a self-deprecating story about walking into a glass wall or almost falling off a ladder, and whose wife, Lori, is always, always right.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
Charli’s version of herself, though, is a fascinating creation — self-deprecating, yes, and laughing at herself, but with the clinical distance of a telescope lasered onto a forming star.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
Burns recalls with a self-deprecating smile.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for self-deprecating
Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Here is the regular guy who loves shooting hoops, who is hopeless with a hammer, who loves a self-deprecating story about walking into a glass wall or almost falling off a ladder, and whose wife, Lori, is always, always right.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
Charli’s version of herself, though, is a fascinating creation — self-deprecating, yes, and laughing at herself, but with the clinical distance of a telescope lasered onto a forming star.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
Burns recalls with a self-deprecating smile.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for self-deprecating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-deprecating
Adjective
-
Kayla is a humble and gracious student who leads with quiet strength and a genuine love for dance.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
-
After pulling off another iconic play Saturday, Reaves had a more humble message.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Some of the ire contributing to the unedifying scenes at full-time owed to just how meek Villa had been against the Premier League’s bottom team.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
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At the film’s center is Seyo Kim (Chen Emilie Yan), a meek state lawyer looking to make a difference, but who accepts, with begrudging sighs, her department’s 80% rate of dropping hate crime prosecutions as just another part of the job.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-deprecating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-deprecating. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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