self-defeating

[ self-di-fee-ting, self- ]

/ ˈsɛlf dɪˈfi tɪŋ, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

serving to frustrate, thwart, etc., one's own intention or interests: His behavior was certainly self-defeating.

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Words nearby self-defeating

self-curing resin, self-dealing, self-deceived, self-deceiving, self-deception, self-defeating, self-defence, self-defense, self-deliverance, self-delusion, self-denial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for self-defeating

It would seem like a self-defeating move for a government contractor to become a tax exile.
Big Pharma Skips to the U.K. to Avoid Taxes|Daniel Gross|May 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even that most fundamental American activity of pursuing happiness can become a self-defeating drive.
How Depression Could Save Your Life|Nick Romeo|March 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This isn't a policy in any coherent sense of that word; it's an artifact of resentment, a self-defeating relic from another era.
Obama Should End America’s Stupidest Foreign Policy: Isolating Cuba|Robert Shrum|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From a clinical point of view, Dr. Foehl opined, this behavior would be labeled as a “self-defeating personality disorder.”
Why Antics by Several Republicans Suggest the Party Needs Therapy|Dean Obeidallah|January 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I believe absolutely and positively that violence is self-defeating.
We Need MLK’s Revolutionary Spirit|Roland S. Martin|January 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not only would such an attempt involve impossible inquiries, but the attempt would be self-defeating.
Social Rights And Duties|Leslie Stephen
No, it would be self-defeating folly to make Wagner appear less in order to have Strauss appear more.
How to Appreciate Music|Gustav Kobb
Piecemeal operations within each lesser drainage area can be self-defeating or, at the very least, needlessly expensive.
Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006|Various
Born of crass ignorance and self-defeating greed, it cannot bear the light.
American Political Ideas Viewed From The Standpoint Of Universal History|John Fiske

British Dictionary definitions for self-defeating

self-defeating

adjective

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012