Meaning & use
condemn yourself
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To judge yourself severely or blame yourself for something you have done.
Grammar: Reflexive: the object is always yourself, himself, herself, etc. You cannot 'condemn yourself' someone else.
Patterns
- condemn yourself for something
- condemn yourself for doing something
Don't condemn yourself for one small mistake; everyone makes them.
She condemned herself for years for not speaking up at the meeting.
He condemns himself every time he looks at the old photographs.
verbtransitive
To put yourself in a bad situation from which it is hard to escape.
Grammar: Usually followed by 'to' plus a noun or -ing form: condemn yourself to a life of worry.
Patterns
- condemn yourself to something
- condemn yourself to doing something
By refusing all help, he condemned himself to months of loneliness.
If you keep avoiding the problem, you condemn yourself to endless stress.
She felt she had condemned herself to a career she never wanted.
Word forms
| third person singular | condemns yourself |
|---|---|
| past tense | condemned yourself |
| past participle | condemned yourself |
| -ing form | condemning yourself |
Common combinations
- condemn yourself for
- You shouldn't condemn yourself for something you couldn't control.
- condemn yourself to
- He condemned himself to a life of regret by never apologizing.
- quick to condemn yourself
- She is quick to condemn herself when things go wrong.
- constantly condemn yourself
- Stop constantly condemning yourself and start learning from your mistakes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blame yourself
- More common and less formal; it means holding yourself responsible, while 'condemn yourself' suggests stronger, almost moral judgment.
- reproach yourself
- Formal and literary; it expresses disappointment in yourself rather than the severe judgment in 'condemn yourself'.
Opposites
Word family
- condemn verb
- To say strongly that someone or something is bad or wrong.
- condemnation noun
- Strong criticism or the act of saying something is wrong.
- condemned adjective
- Judged as bad, or (of a building) officially declared unfit to use.
Commonly confused: condemn yourself or condone?
condemn yourself vs condone
'Condone' means to accept or forgive bad behavior, which is almost the opposite of condemning it.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The reflexive pronoun must match the subject: 'she' goes with 'herself'. The other options use pronouns that do not agree with the subject.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “condemn yourself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.