self-torture

noun

self-tor·​ture ˌself-ˈtȯr-chər 

plural self-tortures

1

: the act or an instance of torturing oneself psychologically

Guilt is a merciless instrument of self-torture.

—S. G. Browne

Because golf exposes the flaws of the human swing—a basically simple maneuver—it causes more self-torture than any game short of Russian roulette.

—Grantland Rice

2

: the infliction of intense pain on oneself

The Native North Americans also used physical suffering, a literal self-torture—for example, piercing the chest with sticks and thongs …

—Leslie Gray

Examples of self-torture in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This entire exercise in self-torture really has little to do with line items on a budget spreadsheet. —Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 4 Nov. 2023

Decades earlier, the diplomat George Kennan had won lasting renown (and lifelong self-torture) with his writings at the Cold War’s outset that outlined the nature of the Soviet threat to the United States and prescribed a vague strategy to counter it. —Jordan Michael Smith, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1