self-betrayal

English

Etymology

From self- +‎ betrayal.

Noun

self-betrayal (countable and uncountable, plural self-betrayals)

1. The act of betraying oneself.
   • 1988 August 27, Mel Gussow, “Review/Theater; A Fading Prizefighter Confronts His Facade”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     At its heart, the story is fairly familiar from prizefight fiction, one of betrayal - and self-betrayal - in which a once-promising athlete confronts his failure.

   • 2024 March 13, Ashley Janssen, “Part 1: Burnout Is A Thousand Tiny Self-Betrayals”, in Ashley Janssen‎^[2]:

     There are all kinds of motivators for our tiny self-betrayals, some of which are even well-intended, but they are almost always at our expense.