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
Because what's the legacy of your mother was killed by your father, who then, in a fit of self-pity and fear, killed himself?
—
Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2025
The question felt more confrontational than self-pitying.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
Pixar has never hesitated to show childhood tumult before, or to explore the feelings that might lead someone to act out, but Elio’s combination of mourning and self-pity are a genuine challenge.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 June 2025
Weinstein had a self-pitying and widely covered jailhouse conversation with right-wing commentator Candace Owens in March.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-pity
Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2025
The question felt more confrontational than self-pitying.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
Pixar has never hesitated to show childhood tumult before, or to explore the feelings that might lead someone to act out, but Elio’s combination of mourning and self-pity are a genuine challenge.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 June 2025
Weinstein had a self-pitying and widely covered jailhouse conversation with right-wing commentator Candace Owens in March.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-pity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-pity
Noun
-
Emotions were on full display with many expressing sadness and frustration, not only over Wednesday's federal raid, but raids happening around the Twin Cities over the last 40 days.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The initial answer to that question is a no, according to some evangelical pastors and commentators who reacted with shock and sadness to Yancey’s confession.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Ege, a 31-year-old special education teacher, ended up reaching out to the group Families for Safe Streets, whose members showed up at their apartment shortly after Musyoka’s death to help them through those initial days and weeks of grief.—
Johnny Dodd,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
-
We’re largely left to imagine her fears for an uncertain future, her grief for an unknown, unborn child and her thoughts on becoming a symbolic figure in the outside world, with another woman’s name to boot.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Death, fear, and sorrow unify the disparate practices.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
-
But grief will give you so much more than sorrow.—
Lauren DePino,
CNN Money,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Coppola and production designer Ziering will explore their creative partnership, the aesthetic and emotional storytelling that defines Coppola’s visual universe — from the suburban melancholy of Palo Alto to the luminous complexity of The Last Showgirl.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
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Full of dread and melancholy, the Austrian import flips the creepy-kid script a bit by centering on two boys (Elias and Lukas Schwarz) who wonder whether their mom (Susanne Wuest), whose head is wrapped in bandages after facial surgery, is actually their mom. 38.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Mamdani, 34, is a charismatic socialist who has limited experience in the private sector and seems utterly unconcerned about his guiding philosophy’s long track record of creating misery.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Beyond the outright annihilation of people and the considerable trauma that brought onto people, leftist regimes inflicted considerable misery in myriad other ways.—
Sal Rodriguez,
Oc Register,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
No adolescent defiance or child’s anguish was visible on his face now.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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Some critics called for more editorial discipline in the film, or found Lawrence’s onscreen spin cycle of anguish, which involves literally clawing her way up walls or flinging herself through glass doors, to be repetitive.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Following months of agony and fundraising, Abeba was eventually able to send enough money to pay for her brother Daniel’s release.—
Mick Krever,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Near those boundaries, microscopic changes in pace or line flip the result, explaining why near-identical putts can alternate between agony and ecstasy.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Why, then, the unrelenting economic gloom?—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
-
But despite all the gloom, there are reasons for optimism.—
Wayne Winegarden,
Oc Register,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-pity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-pity. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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