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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Recent Examples of self-pity
There’s something delicious about his cocktail of self-pity and self-loathing, which can arouse both the viewer’s repulsion and compassion.
—
Susie Goldsbrough, The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2025
Don’t wallow in self-pity and stare into the abyss.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2025
The sadness comes from a loss, defeat, or humiliation, and is accompanied by a feeling of helplessness and self-pity.
—Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
For the first — and perhaps only — time in his Iowa coaching career, Ferentz briefly wallowed in self-pity.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-pity
Susie Goldsbrough, The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2025
Don’t wallow in self-pity and stare into the abyss.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2025
The sadness comes from a loss, defeat, or humiliation, and is accompanied by a feeling of helplessness and self-pity.
—Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
For the first — and perhaps only — time in his Iowa coaching career, Ferentz briefly wallowed in self-pity.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-pity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-pity
Noun
-
The film’s wry brand of sadness at times recalls the work of Aki Kaurismäki, although Covi and Frimmel rarely mimic the Finnish auteur’s deadpan style of humor.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The two gin monoliths, like so much of the visual design of the film, gave production designer Suzie Davies and her team the chance to reach the apex of a feeling — whether anger, sadness, despair, or desire.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The three women, all widows, were brought together by their shared grief and desire to help others in the same situation.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The study found that many of those surveyed used crochet to manage their mental health and help them with grief, chronic illness, and pain.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow and condolences to the victims’ families and directed authorities to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
And this production certainly has that, making for a consistently entertaining drama that can quicken your heart one minute and plunge it into profound sorrow the next.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Turner plays the middle brother with intriguing melancholy and an almost alien detachment, which works within the world this film creates, but not necessarily for a main character.—
David Opie,
IndieWire,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Fanning’s name was the first called when nominations were announced, signaling that Scandinavian melancholy would be notably absent that morning.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Pecola responds to her misery by trying to undo herself.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Sought book on prosecutorial misconduct In the bulk of his conversations, Nathan detailed the misery of jail life.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Kathleen Hanna fronted punk greats Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, two bands that existed at different times in the evolving (but still sexist) conversation about women and their place in culture, with the musicians often serving as paragons of feminist critique and anguish.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Feb. 2026
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Even now, more than 40 years later, the lasting image of her career is of Decker laying on the track in anguish and tears after colliding with Zola Budd in the 1984 Olympic 3,000-meter run.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.—
Staff Photographer,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Latinx people of conscience recognize our own tios, tias, primos, primas, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers in the brown faces being livestreamed with blood and agony pouring into enraged mouths asking for help.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But Charli ends the album with a sense of faint dawn creeping in against the gloom.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
13 Feb. 2026
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For now, January’s report looks like a solid break in the gloom, if not the beginning of a boom.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-pity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-pity. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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