self-deprecating

adjective

self-dep·​re·​cat·​ing ˌself-ˈde-pri-ˌkā-tiŋ How to pronounce self-deprecating (audio)
: tending or serving to disparage or undervalue oneself
self-deprecating humor
He is far too self-deprecating … to assume the persona of a celebrity.Eve MacSweeney
self-deprecatingly adverb
… his own informal cluster of American dissident scholars, which self-deprecatingly calls itself the "consolation club" … Franklin Foer

Examples of self-deprecating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Told in a sharp, self-deprecating, first-person point of view, this small town, Southern mystery packs a big wallop. Connie Ogle, Boston Herald, 10 July 2025 The branding flip-flop was ridiculed online — which WBD’s social team tried to get ahead of by sending out a flurry of self-deprecating memes poking fun at the name switcheroo. Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 July 2025 The Soviets removed their missiles, and the US pledged not to invade Cuba and to dismantle obsolete nuclear weapons in Turkey. Kennedy, ever the egotist despite his sometimes self-deprecating humor, certainly worried about his legacy as president. Richard Cherwitz, Hartford Courant, 8 July 2025 Lady Gaga, Jennifer Garner, Ty Pennington and Emily Ratajkowski were among the celebs who participated in the (at times, self-deprecating) trend. Marina Watts, People.com, 7 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-deprecating

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-deprecating was in 1834

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Cite this Entry

“Self-deprecating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-deprecating. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

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