self-defeating

American  

[self-di-fee-ting, self-] / ˈsɛlf dɪˈfi tɪŋ, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

1. serving to frustrate, thwart, etc., one's own intention or interests.

   His behavior was certainly self-defeating.

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self-defeating British  

adjective

1. (of a plan, action, etc) unable to achieve the intended result

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Explanation

Anything that's self-defeating acts against its own plan or purpose — it's unsuccessful or useless. If you really want to make friends with someone, it would be self-defeating to say something mean to them. If your actions keep the thing you really hope for from working out, they're self-defeating. It's also self-defeating to be drawn to people who will inevitably treat you badly, or to eat foods you know are going to make your stomach hurt later. Behavior that seems destined to harm you — writing your friend's English paper but not your own, for example — is also self-defeating. Defeating stems from the Vuglar Latin diffacere, "destroy or undo."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-defeating

Elliott argues such a move would be self-defeating, because Treasury bond yields would rise to compensate.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

This is an empty — and ultimately self-defeating — hope.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

But homing in on the annoying and self-defeating aspects of it misses the real story of how the movement changed American society, and the world, for the better—and how Lindy West did too.

From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026

Yet even though our two countries are inextricably bound together, and despite the existential nature of Canada’s reliance on the U.S. market, we have maneuvered ourselves into a self-defeating elbows-up mentality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

But why should a germ evolve the apparently self-defeating strategy of killing its host?

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond