self-abuse
Americannoun
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disparagement or misuse of one's own abilities, etc
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a censorious term for masturbation See masturbation
Etymology
Origin of self-abuse
First recorded in 1595–1605
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.
Make it for everyone Unlike misanthropy or self-abuse, tea-making is not a solitary pursuit.
From The Guardian • Dec. 8, 2015
The inability or unwillingness to breast-feed remains a font of unfathomable desperation and self-abuse among American mothers.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2012
The inability or unwillingness to breast-feed remains a font of unfathomable desperation and self-abuse among American mothers Photograph by iStockphoto.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2012
A third, between decorative quotes from Michel Foucault, extols Basquiat's "punishing regime of self-abuse" as part of "the disciplines imposed by the principle of inverse asceticism to which he was so resolutely committed."
From Time Magazine Archive
Lack of self-confidence is an evidence of mental self-abuse.
From Herself Talks with Women Concerning Themselves by Lowry, Edith B. (Edith Belle)
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.
