SELF-PITY Synonyms: 105 Similar and Opposite Words

self-pity

noun

Definition of self-pity

as in sadness

disapproving a feeling of pity for yourself because you believe you have suffered more than is fair or reasonable He was wallowing in self-pity. She spoke without a trace of self-pity.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of self-pity Or perhaps he is known less by image and more as a disembodied voice, glitching his way across vintage Kanye tracks and rumbling words of self-pity opposite Taylor Swift. — Mitch Therieau, Pitchfork, 8 Apr. 2026 Despite the challenges, Urso refused to indulge in self-pity. — Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026 Those reflections on youthful passion contrast sharply with the Mozzer’s current state of self-pity. — Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2026 However, those not feeling the lovey-dovey vibe of the month don't need to wallow in self-pity. — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 24 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for self-pity

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-pity

Noun

Despite being steeped in the sadness and frustration of the working class, Lee’s drama uses its film-within-a-film construct to refract the moral valences of labor through the prism of what people actually earn through their work.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
This one, however, finds the director in a mood to confront the inevitable changes and march of time, its joys and sadness in the lives of ordinary people going about living it.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

As the tournament and the date intersect from year to year, each anniversary that coincides represents a chance to remember, and a reminder of the non-linearity of grief.

— Lukas Weese, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Impervious to inclement grief, rising seas, & the separatist hurricanes of history.

— Marcus Wicker, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of grief

Noun

On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.

— Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Beneath all the sensuality and beauty, there’s also a lingering melancholy that feels very familiar to me.

— Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 16 June 2026

Definition of melancholy

Noun

Illinoisans should demand state investments that serve struggling communities, instead of needlessly expanding the misery of our prison system.

— Joan Steffen, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026
At one point, a man placed a hand on Bibendum’s shoulder and led him offstage, as if to be put out of his misery.

— Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of misery

Noun

Still, even on video, Davis doesn’t appear wracked with guilt or anguish about the possibility of spending the rest of his life in the Nevada penitentiary system.

— Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
One day, Cole paged through an album whose acidic glues caused her particular anguish.

— Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of anguish

Noun

There are few harsher agonies than waiting, and throughout the great expanse of the CPKC ‘International’ Grand Prix presented by Rolex at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, two riders felt that in very different ways.

— Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
But for Roma, the agony for his missing son did not end that day.

— Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of agony

Noun

After a shambolic end to the transfer window on Tuesday night, more doom and gloom was descending on Hill Dickinson Stadium five days later when United’s Benjamin Sesko headed home what looked to be an 88th-minute winner.

— Stuart James, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
There is a tendency for gloom to descend when thinking about Europe’s economic and business prospects.

— Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026