self-loathing

American  

[self-loh-thing] / ˈsɛlfˈloʊ ðɪŋ /

noun

1. disgust with oneself; the feeling that one is detestable.

   Consumed by my own self-loathing, I thought I deserved nothing.

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adjective

1. feeling or expressing disgust with oneself.

   In my insecure and self-loathing mind, I figured she’d probably given me her number with no intention of ever going out with me.

Etymology

Origin of self-loathing

self- ( def. ) + loathing ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-loathing

Reaching for a petal with a look of immense self-loathing, as if committing a felony.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

For a team whose signature was bowing out of major tournaments in a storm of self-sabotage and self-loathing, surviving this trip south of the border erased years of heartbreak—but only for a moment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Dwayne Johnson’s performance in “The Smashing Machine,” for all the film’s flaws, cleverly reconciled the dissonance between the outward images of masculine power and internal feelings of self-loathing.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

Through it all, however, West struggled with depression and a sense of self-loathing, and had trouble with intimacy, much of it a by-product of a hardscrabble childhood in West Virginia with a domineering father.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

A month to let her self-loathing seep away, then she would call Obinze.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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