self-deprecating

[ self-dep-ri-key-ting, self- ]

adjective
  1. belittling or undervaluing oneself; excessively modest.

  • Also self-dep·re·ca·to·ry [self-dep-ri-kuh-tawr-ee, self-]. /ˌsɛlfˈdɛp rɪ kəˌtɔr i, ˌsɛlf-/.

Other words from self-deprecating

  • self-dep·re·cat·ing·ly, adverb
  • self-dep·re·ca·tion [self-dep-ri-key-shuhn, self-], /ˌsɛlfˌdɛp rɪˈkeɪ ʃən, ˌsɛlf-/, noun

Words Nearby self-deprecating

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use self-deprecating in a sentence

  • Then, there was no limit to the gentle, self-deprecating plausibility with which he alluded to himself.

  • He smirked in a self-deprecating way, and pulled his hat-brim down in front.

    Dr. Sevier | George W. Cable
  • He looked from one to the other, with his melancholy and self-deprecating smile.

    The Last Hope | Henry Seton Merriman

British Dictionary definitions for self-deprecating

self-deprecating

adjective
  1. having a tendency to disparage oneself

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012