as in self-annihilation
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Recent Examples of self-flagellation
In Baghdad, thousands marched through the streets, including some who slashed their heads with razors and performed other forms of self-flagellation in a show of grief to mark the occasion.
—
Fadi Tawil,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
In 1994 Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was also a cleric with the rank of ayatollah, issued a fatwa forbidding the practice of self-flagellation.
—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 May 2026
Grace's departure is handled carefully in John of John, even buried under the gross tonnage of John Mcleod's flaws and relentless self-flagellation.
—
Paula Cooper,
CBS News,
5 May 2026
Both the criticism and self-flagellation imply that the act of claiming another person’s words can render these words deceitful, even if the words have been paid for and the content is true.
—
Emily Hodgson Anderson,
Fortune,
27 Mar. 2026
Both the criticism and self-flagellation imply that the act of claiming another person’s words can render these words deceitful, even if the words have been paid for and the content is true.
—
Emily Hodgson Anderson,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2026
Others, including Halverson, would like to see the self-flagellation calm down.
—
Joshua Partlow,
The Atlantic,
17 Mar. 2026
The same could be said for Howe’s lacerating self-flagellation afterwards.
—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
At the same time, invisibility has come as a relief, insofar as my vanity always kept company with self-consciousness and self-flagellation.
—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Fadi Tawil,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
In 1994 Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was also a cleric with the rank of ayatollah, issued a fatwa forbidding the practice of self-flagellation.
—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 May 2026
Grace's departure is handled carefully in John of John, even buried under the gross tonnage of John Mcleod's flaws and relentless self-flagellation.
—
Paula Cooper,
CBS News,
5 May 2026
Both the criticism and self-flagellation imply that the act of claiming another person’s words can render these words deceitful, even if the words have been paid for and the content is true.
—
Emily Hodgson Anderson,
Fortune,
27 Mar. 2026
Both the criticism and self-flagellation imply that the act of claiming another person’s words can render these words deceitful, even if the words have been paid for and the content is true.
—
Emily Hodgson Anderson,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2026
Others, including Halverson, would like to see the self-flagellation calm down.
—
Joshua Partlow,
The Atlantic,
17 Mar. 2026
The same could be said for Howe’s lacerating self-flagellation afterwards.
—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
At the same time, invisibility has come as a relief, insofar as my vanity always kept company with self-consciousness and self-flagellation.
—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-flagellation
Noun
-
The will toward self-annihilation is a familiar human characteristic.
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Her self-annihilation is grisly and impossible to misinterpret as a final repudiation of her role in the HMS Courageous bombing and, until Grace announces she’d like Hal to be her vice-president, is the most intense and far-reaching twist of the episode.
Noun
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Tibetans have also previously committed acts of self-immolation in protest against Beijing's policies in Tibet and nearby regions with large Tibetan populations.
-
On the brink of elimination, the Spurs would learn from their self-immolation and grow a strategic brain to match their undeniable skills.
Noun
-
This is a book of profound intellectual altruism and moral urgency that insists on summoning courage despite (or because of) societal and political cleavage.
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Musk did push for structures that would have given him control, and Altman and Brockman became extraordinarily wealthy from an organization built around the language of altruism.
Noun
-
Couples who stay close over the long haul rarely run on pure self-sacrifice.
-
Parenthood has demanded a level of commitment and self-sacrifice from me that, in any other context, would be considered pathological.
Noun
-
Trump, for his part, spun the Fund as yet more evidence of his magnanimity.
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But Beijing’s magnanimity isn’t going to transform the continent’s economy.
Noun
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But a wiser course might be to emphasize a kind of counter-nostalgia, reclaiming a mythic past for the forces of tolerance and democratic generosity.
-
Perhaps subsequent history shows that his generosity of spirit was misplaced.
Cite this Entry
“Self-flagellation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-flagellation. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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