self-pity

[ self-pit-ee, self- ]

noun
  1. pity for oneself, especially a self-indulgent attitude concerning one's own difficulties, hardships, etc.: We must resist yielding to self-pity and carry on as best we can.

Origin of self-pity

1
First recorded in 1615–25

Other words from self-pity

  • self-pit·y·ing, adjective
  • self-pit·y·ing·ly, adverb

Words Nearby self-pity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use self-pity in a sentence

  • The Reverend swallowed again, struggled to keep his eyes dry, for the rush of self pity almost overcame him.

    The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
  • Then the springs of self-pity were touched and she would have stopped the sale had she dared or known quite how.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • But the light died out, and an expression of almost self-pity supplanted it.

    The Leaven in a Great City | Lillian William Betts
  • He even considered himself, with great self-pity, returning and finding her married and happy, of course.

    Gallegher and Other Stories | Richard Harding Davis
  • When he had eaten the bread of affliction, seasoned with tears of self-pity and remorse, mamma re-appeared with papa.

British Dictionary definitions for self-pity

self-pity

noun
  1. the act or state of pitying oneself, esp in an exaggerated or self-indulgent manner

Derived forms of self-pity

  • self-pitying, adjective
  • self-pityingly, adverb

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