Meaning & use
self-recrimination
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable or uncountableformal
The act of angrily blaming yourself for something that went wrong.
Grammar: Uncountable as a state: lost in self-recrimination. Plural when listing thoughts: bitter self-recriminations.
Patterns
- indulge in self-recrimination
- a spiral of self-recrimination
After the accident he spent weeks in self-recrimination.
Her diary was full of bitter self-recriminations about the missed chance.
There is no point in self-recrimination now; let's fix it.
Word forms
| plural | self-recriminations |
|---|
Common combinations
- bitter self-recrimination
- His voice was full of bitter self-recrimination.
- wallow in self-recrimination
- She tried not to wallow in self-recrimination after the defeat.
- spiral of self-recrimination
- A spiral of self-recrimination kept him awake all night.
- stop the self-recrimination
- Please stop the self-recrimination; it wasn't your fault.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-blame
- Self-blame is plainer and milder, while self-recrimination suggests angry, repeated accusations.
- self-reproach
- Self-reproach is quieter and often a single feeling of guilt, but self-recrimination suggests ongoing fierce criticism.
- remorse
- Remorse is deep regret for a wrong done, with no focus on blaming yourself over and over.
Opposites
Word family
- recrimination noun
- an angry accusation against someone who has accused you
- recriminate verb
- to accuse in return
- recriminatory adjective
- full of angry blame
Commonly confused: self-recrimination or self-reflection?
self-recrimination vs self-reflection
Self-reflection is calm thinking about yourself, but self-recrimination is harsh blame.
Practice
After losing the contract, Dan spent days in ___, repeating that it was all his fault.
Choose one answer.
Self-recrimination means blaming yourself bitterly. Self-confidence is the opposite mood.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-recrimination”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.