self-sabotage

or self sab·o·tage

[ self-sab-uh-tahzh ]

noun

1. the act or habit of behaving in a way that interferes directly with one’s own goals, well-being, relationships, etc., as by comfort eating, procrastination, or lashing out at others:

   If a line worker physically assaults a supervisor, that’s self-sabotage, as there’s every likelihood of dismissal followed by criminal prosecution.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to behave, especially habitually or compulsively, in a way that interferes directly with one’s own goals, well-being, relationships, etc.:

   She’ll do OK for a while, and then all of a sudden she’ll self-sabotage by procrastinating and making excuses, and her dreams come to a screeching halt—again.

   Your husband is self-sabotaging the relationship with his gambling.

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-sabotage¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

It was a move of both selfishness and self-sabotage worthy of Elon Musk, Trump’s latest consigliere, who has drained Twitter of $34.6 billion in value in the two years he’s owned it just for the satisfaction of filling it with misinformation and hate speech.

From Slate

“I can’t think of a greater act of self-sabotage in my life,” one Labor MP told the Sydney Morning Herald - who redacted their name "so they could speak freely".

From BBC

The unplayable one wasn’t so much a person as a thing - it was Scotland’s ruthless capacity for self-sabotage.

From BBC

Yet even that laxity proved too constraining for Saret, who chafed at being hemmed in, often to the point of self-sabotage.

From New York Times

The Hogan recruitment served as a capstone to months of quiet success for Mr. Daines and Senate Republicans, after more than a decade filled with recruiting disappointments, misfires and downright self-sabotage.

From New York Times