one-downmanship

noun

A social tactic where someone tries to gain the upper hand in a conversation by emphasizing their own inferiority, hardships, or victimhood compares to others, often to elicit sympathy or undermine rivals.

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Meanings

nounone-downmanship (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesA social tactic where someone tries to gain the upper hand in a conversation by emphasizing their own inferiority, hardships, or victimhood compares to others, often to elicit sympathy or undermine rivals.

Origin

By analogy with one-upmanship.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

one-downmanship. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one-downmanship

MLA

“one-downmanship.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one-downmanship. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “one-downmanship,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one-downmanship.

Source: one-downmanship on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.