self-esteem
Americannoun
-
a realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself; self-respect.
- Antonyms:
- diffidence
-
an inordinately or exaggeratedly favorable impression of oneself.
Her self-esteem can sometimes be very annoying.
- Antonyms:
- diffidence
noun
-
respect for or a favourable opinion of oneself
-
an unduly high opinion of oneself; vanity
Synonym Usage
See pride.
Etymology
Origin of self-esteem
First recorded in 1650–60
Compare meaning
How does self-esteem compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
How you feel about yourself — your self-worth or your pride in yourself — is called self-esteem. It may be a blow to your self-esteem, for example, to find out you didn't get chosen for the scholarship you applied for. The "esteem" part of self-esteem comes from the Latin verb aestimare, meaning to value. The "self" part is self-explanatory, referring to you, yourself. So think of self-esteem as how you value yourself. If you think everything you do is wonderful and deserves praise, you have no self-esteem problems, but if you feel like you are not worthy of good things, you may have low self-esteem.
Vocabulary lists containing self-esteem
"Hip-Hop as Culture" and "I Am Somebody"
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"Speaking Up"
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"My Left Foot" and "Success Is a Mind-Set"
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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.
Livia may have been the awkward “country mouse” of her class, but she was a prodigy, and her fragile self-esteem relied on the superiority of her playing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
There is no way to totally protect your self-esteem or your bank account, but you can make smarter choices about who you ask out by taking some preliminary steps before a date.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
"Those are important measures, but they don't necessarily capture changes in self-esteem, relationship quality, or other day-to-day experiences."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Meta said it would also give teens the ability to not play content automatically, hide likes and reactions and block teens from using extreme makeup filters, which can potentially harm a person’s self-esteem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
She was pleased that Bobby found self-esteem in chess.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
