self-deprecation

Also self-de·pre·ci·a·tion

[self-dep-ri-key-shuhn, self-]

noun

1. the act or habit of belittling or undervaluing oneself; excessive modesty, often as a form of humor.

   There’s no need for self-deprecation—you're doing fine and shouldn’t be worried about your shortcomings.

   At the luau, the Hawaiian chief's deadpan delivery, self-deprecation, and gentle mockery of tourists was hilarious.

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-deprecation¹

First recorded in 1840–45; self- ( def. ) + deprecation ( def. )

Example Sentences

When I worked at the BBC half a lifetime ago, like all staffs at large, public institutions, we had some good gags in corporate self-deprecation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Self-deprecation isn’t much in evidence at the BBC these days as its staff take to their airwaves to insist how unbiased they are.

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And when it happens, we can hide, or we can try to respond with a little self-deprecation and humor.

Read more on Salon

In it, he said "banter" in pubs and sports grounds and a spirit of good-humoured "self-deprecation" are some of the things that he loves about Britain and what he thinks define British culture.

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The Duke of Sussex says "banter" in pubs and sports grounds and a spirit of good-humoured "self-deprecation" are among the things that he loves about Britain and which he thinks define British culture.

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