self-recrimination

noun

self-re·​crim·​i·​na·​tion ˌself-ri-ˌkri-mə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce self-recrimination (audio)
plural self-recriminations
Synonyms of self-recriminationnext
: the act of accusing or blaming oneself
… a story whose own identity slips from the slow burn of an erotic thriller to a far deeper, more wrenching study of parental loss, self-recrimination and grief.Ann Hornaday
All of the past year's regrets and self-recriminations came rushing back: the sleepless nights, the anguished days.Justin Peters

Examples of self-recrimination in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The story moves between the present, where Agathe and Vera go through the detritus of their childhood lives, and the past, as Agathe conjures memories from her childhood, bringing incidents to mind for inspection and some measure of self-recrimination. John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026 Chilling words from our resident Sylvia Plath, or a self-recrimination about her baking skills? Walden Green, Pitchfork, 17 Feb. 2026 Though this story of betrayal hits familiar beats—shock, grief, self-recrimination, resignation—it is enlivened by its particulars. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026 His expression in those scenes, so full of fury and self-recrimination, turn Milchick into Severance’s most compelling mystery. Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025 This thought didn’t deaden the pain of his death or of John’s self-recrimination. J. Malcolm Garcia, Literary Hub, 29 Oct. 2025 Claude can’t disentangle her years-ago affair with Mathias from feelings of self-recrimination and guilt, and seesaws between anger and seduction. Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025 Si-eun must fight through a fog of self-recrimination. Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025 From her sharp scolding of a student nurse to her own tears of self-recrimination, Floria is a full-blooded and beautifully etched character and, yes, a heroine. Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-recrimination was in 1769

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Cite this Entry

“Self-recrimination.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-recrimination. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

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