self-respect
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- self-respectful adjective
- self-respecting adjective
Etymology
Origin of self-respect
First recorded in 1605–15
Explanation
When you feel proud of yourself, you have self-respect. If you act in an unfair or unkind way toward someone else, you might lose your self-respect. Things that make you feel good about the kind of person you are are great for building self-respect. If you cheat on a test, you're likely to lose some of that self-respect, but you may be able to regain it by admitting what you did to your teacher and making amends. You can also use the words dignity or self-worth.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She said Atkins' behaviour "totally eroded my self-respect and my self-esteem".
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
And I don’t think that they understood self-respect because I don’t think they experienced it before.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
In all of this, Mr. Easterly is firm in his belief that the way forward lies in a marriage of market economics and attention to self-respect.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
How do I keep my self-respect and continue to communicate with him?
From MarketWatch • Oct. 9, 2025
To them our self-respect was more important than passing some test, because you can’t pass a test if you already feel defeated.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
