self-destructive
Americanadjective
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harmful, injurious, or destructive to oneself.
His constant arguing with the boss shows he's a self-destructive person.
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reflecting or exhibiting suicidal desires or drives.
Careless driving may be a self-destructive tendency.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-destructive
First recorded in 1645–55
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
But the actor never found an equal role, partly because his talent was married to a deep self-destructive streak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 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
Indeed, it can serve as a trap for our own self-destructive behavior.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 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
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.
