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self-destruction
noun
self-de·struc·tion
ˌself-di-ˈstrək-shən
: destruction of oneself
especially
: suicide
Examples of self-destruction in a Sentence
the controversy over self-destruction accomplished with the assistance of a physician or other person
Recent Examples on the Web
There should be a sense of wounding loss in the disintegration — the self-destruction, even — of their small, frail family.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 May 2024
Her emergence as a writer evolves at the same time and takes the narrator on a journey of addiction, self-destruction and ultimately survival that finally comes in the shape of love and motherhood.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 6 May 2024
There is a perverse tendency, in such situations, to treat the artist’s act of self-destruction as somehow a final artistic flourish.
—Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2024
Vain, often drunk, desperate to get a leg up, the title character weaves in and out of humiliating scenarios, scraping by with a sense of self-inflation to match his appetite for self-destruction.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
In that attempt, the Starship failed, as did SpaceX’s self-destruction system.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024
One of those benefits, strangely enough, seems to be programmed self-destruction.
—Quanta Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024
Across its four previous episodes, the show has examined its protagonists’ confusion, self-destruction, and despair, creating an intimate portrait of how geographic rootlessness can yield paralyzing melancholy.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2024
What’s astonishing about this show, though — aside from the central performances, which are superb, and Guettel’s anxious, spiky, sumptuous score, which grabs hold of us and doesn’t let go — is the way its devastating chic snuggles right up to catastrophic self-destruction.
—Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 29 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-destruction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1586, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of self-destruction was
circa 1586
Dictionary Entries Near self-destruction
Cite this Entry
“Self-destruction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-destruction. Accessed 1 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
self-destruction
noun
self-de·struc·tion
ˌself-di-ˈstrək-shən
: destruction of oneself
especially
: suicide sense 1
self-destructive
adjective
-ˈstrək-tiv
Medical Definition
self-destruction
noun
self-de·struc·tion
-di-ˈstrək-shən
: destruction of oneself
especially
: suicide
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