self-destructive

American  

[self-di-struhk-tiv, self-] / ˈsɛlf dɪˈstrʌk tɪv, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

1. harmful, injurious, or destructive to oneself.

   His constant arguing with the boss shows he's a self-destructive person.

2. reflecting or exhibiting suicidal desires or drives.

   Careless driving may be a self-destructive tendency.

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Other Word Forms

• self-destructively
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of self-destructive

First recorded in 1645–55

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Explanation

Behavior that harms you physically, or puts you in physical danger, is self-destructive — like riding behind a city bus on your skateboard or living on nothing but potato chips and Coke. If you act in a way that could hurt you, your actions are self-destructive. Not getting enough sleep night after night can be self-destructive. Other self-destructive actions are dangerous in a different way. It's self-destructive for someone to spend their paycheck gambling at a casino, or for an office worker to steal money from the company they work for. Destructive is rooted in the Latin destruere, "demolish," or literally "un-build."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-destructive

The premise of Neal Schore’s book “The 25th Hour” is that certain self-destructive emotions are often the true culprits behind time-management problems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

According to GlobalSecurity, a private nonpartisan research organization on defense issues, it’s unlikely Meink was talking about any sorts of “kinetic” weapons—i.e., weapons that unleash bullets or bombs—since the resulting debris could also be self-destructive.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Rodrigo's as likely to reveal her ugly side – jealousy, obsession, self-destructive decision making – as she is to rant about her feckless exes.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

There is nothing new about the bad conscience or self-destructive urge that Baudrillard identified within Western civilization, or about its deeply rooted conflict between incompatible tendencies we might call liberation and domination.

From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026

What deep readings his modified sensibility might make of human suffering, of the self-destructive folly or sheer bad luck that drive men toward ill health!

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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