self-pity

American  

[self-pit-ee, self-] / ˌsɛlfˈpɪt i, ˈsɛlf- /

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.

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self-pity British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• self-pitying adjective
• self-pityingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of self-pity

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

And while he’s not one for self-pity, he acknowledges that the loss has been a brutal double whammy.

From Los Angeles Times

Worse, these anxieties, at times, are salted with moments of anger and self-pity.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even now, as Master Gogolev gorged himself on food and self-pity, son and father sat in Lord Fredrick’s taxidermy-filled study only one floor below, speaking of Switzerland, wallpaper, and baby names.

From Literature

Exhausted by self-pity, and swaddled tightly in her cloak like an infant, Penelope fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

From Literature

But if there was one thing Penelope had learned from her headmistress, it was that worry, self-pity, and complaint were not how a Swanburne girl got through the day.

From Literature