self-reproach

noun

Blame or condemnation directed at the self, as by the conscience.

Similar
compunctionremorseself-reproof
OriginEnglish reproach ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

nounself-reproach (countable and uncountable, plural self-reproaches)

plural self-reproaches

  1. countableuncountableBlame or condemnation directed at the self, as by the conscience.

    Besides the jar of contrast there came to her a chill self-reproach that she had not returned sooner, to help her mother in these domesticities, instead of indulging herself out-of-doors.

    1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 29

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed)

Similar
compunctionremorse
Broader
sorrowregretrue

nounthe act of blaming yourself

Similar
self-reproof
Broader
reproach
Also see
compunctioncontritionguiltregretremorseruthself-disgust

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishreproach
  9. Englishself-reproach

From self- + reproach.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: self-reproach on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.