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Definition of Self-defeating
1. Adjective. Acting to defeat its own purpose. "It is self-defeating...to ignore the progress of events"
Definition of Self-defeating
1. Adjective. Something, such as a plan or action, which contains elements that will cause it to fail. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Self-defeating
Literary usage of Self-defeating
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"Harper calls it a vogue word which “says nothing that self-defeating doesn't say
quite ... In the self-defeating sense? None is a very likely replacement. ..."
2. Reforms: Their Difficulties and Possibilities by John Stahl] [Patterson (1884)
"A REMEDY MAT BE self-defeating. — The disallowance of interest and profits is
often held up to us by triumphant discoverers as a universal antidote to the ..."
3. Human Nature and Its Remaking by William Ernest Hocking (1918)
"As administered by human beings, punishment contains a self-defeating element.
The history of criminal law shows mankind early aware of this difficulty, ..."
4. Counselor's Manual for Relapse Prevention with Chemically Dependent Criminal by Terence T. Gorski, John M. Kelley (1999)
"Stopping self-defeating behaviors that prevent awareness of painful feelings and
irrational thoughts • Learning how to manage feelings and emotions ..."
5. Valuation: Its Nature and Laws, Being an Introduction to the General Theory by Wilbur Marshall Urban (1909)
"That it is capable of almost purely logical statement is evidenced by the extensive
use of the principle of " endless regress " and of self-defeating ..."
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