self-destructive

American  

[self-di-struhk-tiv, self-] / ˈsɛlf dɪˈstrʌk tɪv, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

1. harmful, injurious, or destructive to oneself.

   His constant arguing with the boss shows he's a self-destructive person.

2. reflecting or exhibiting suicidal desires or drives.

   Careless driving may be a self-destructive tendency.

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Other Word Forms

• self-destructively
  adverb

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

His threat may be bluster, but it’s also self-destructive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Before the Paris Games, Peaty shared his struggles with injury and his mental health, describing the period as a "self-destructive spiral".

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

“Some of our detractors have been left in a kind of deranged and self-destructive befuddlement.”

From Barron's • Nov. 3, 2025

It’s also clumsy, farcical and potentially self-destructive; I would argue that those qualities complement the menace, rather than undercutting or contradicting it.

From Salon • Aug. 31, 2025

What secret, self-destructive part of herself had asserted its will over her?

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman