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Meaning & use

feeling sorry for yourself

phrase·Everydaydisapproving

Last updated

UK/ˌfiːlɪŋ ˈsɒri fə jɔːˈself/
US/ˌfiːlɪŋ ˈsɑːri fər jɔːrˈself/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.

Meanings

  1. phrasedisapproving

    being unhappy about your problems in a way that shows too much pity for yourself and little effort to change.

    Grammar: The reflexive pronoun must match the subject: I was feeling sorry for myself; she was feeling sorry for herself.

    Patterns

    • feeling sorry for yourself
    • stop feeling sorry for yourself
    • sit around feeling sorry for yourself

    Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, why not ask for help?

    He spent the whole weekend feeling sorry for himself after the rejection.

    She told her son to stop feeling sorry for himself and try again.

  2. phrase

    feeling gentle sadness or sympathy for yourself because something unlucky happened.

    Grammar: This softer sense is less critical and can describe a brief, natural emotion.

    Patterns

    • feeling sorry for yourself after something
    • a bit sorry for yourself

    After losing the final, she allowed herself a day of feeling sorry for herself.

    It's normal to feel a little sorry for yourself when you're ill.

Common combinations

stop feeling sorry for yourself
Stop feeling sorry for yourself and make a plan.
sit around feeling sorry for yourself
Don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself all day.
feeling sorry for himself
He was feeling sorry for himself after the argument.
a bit sorry for yourself
She was a bit sorry for herself after the bad news.

Synonyms and how they differ

self-pitying
Self-pitying is an adjective describing a person; feeling sorry for yourself is the phrase for the emotion.
moping
Moping means being sad and inactive; feeling sorry for yourself focuses on the self-pity.

Opposites

taking actionbeing positive

Word family

self-pity noun
The feeling of being sorry for yourself.
sorry adjective
Feeling sad or regretful.

Commonly confused: feeling sorry for yourself or feeling sorry for someone?

feeling sorry for yourself vs feeling sorry for someone

Feeling sorry for someone means you pity another person; feeling sorry for yourself is about pitying yourself.

Practice

After failing the exam, Tom spent days ___ instead of studying again.

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