self-torture

American  

[self-tawr-cher] / ˈsɛlfˈtɔr tʃər /

noun

1. the act of torturing oneself; an activity causing extreme physical, mental, or emotional pain to oneself.

---

verb (used without object)

self-tortured, self-torturing

1. to deliberately torture oneself physically, mentally, or emotionally.

Other Word Forms

• self-torturous adjective

Example Sentences

First-year North Carolina coach Hubert Davis disclosed that for years he engaged in a form of self-torture.

From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2022

Is doing a one-woman show actually a form of self-torture?

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2018

Her nature is incredibly practical; there’s nothing practical about self-doubt and self-loathing and self-torture.

From The Guardian • Dec. 15, 2016

He did not appear to be one of those actors given to second-guessing or self-torture after a night onstage.

From New York Times • Jan. 5, 2016

How guilt refined the methods of self-torture, threading the beads of detail into an eternal loop, a rosary to be fingered for a lifetime.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan