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Synonyms

self-punishment

British  

noun

  1. the act or an instance of punishing oneself

"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

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.

Even though I’d moved past my crush by then, I felt a surge of embarrassment that quickly morphed into self-punishment.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2024

Given the painful infertility Pine and her partner have endured themselves, the decision to place herself in a maternity hospital may sound to many like a unique form of self-punishment.

From BBC • May 4, 2022

"As kind of a form of self-punishment, but also trying to keep things a little lighter, I told all the guys that I was going to shave it off whenever we won."

From Fox News • Aug. 26, 2021

But anyone who tries to tell you that you have to turn down dates or romance because your husband committed suicide is confusing self-punishment with grief, and they’re wrong.

From Slate • Aug. 8, 2019

To this self-punishment, indeed, was attributed the disease of the lungs which ultimately caused his death.

From The Life of Bret Harte With Some Account of the California Pioneers by Merwin, Henry Childs

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