How to pronounce "self defeating" in English
ˌsɛlf.dɪˈfiː.tɪŋ
self·dih·FEE·ting
Primary stress: FEE
Hear native speakers say self defeating in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “self defeating”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
self
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
dih
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
FEE
Tense long vowel with sustained acoustic resonance.
ting
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the third syllable ("FEE"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Pronouncing a hard, aspirated [tʰ] in casual conversation can sound overly formal in North America.
How Native Speakers Say It: In American English, a single "t" between vowels quickly taps against the alveolar ridge like a soft "d" ([ɾ]). In British English, maintain a crisp aspirated [tʰ].
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "self defeating" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "self defeating is" sounds like "self defeating-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "self defeating" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“polarized and self defeating times to a much more collaborative and connected”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“self-critical especially about their self defeating and self-limiting putting”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“amount of self defeating purpose in answering that question.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “self defeating”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
polarized and self defeating times to a much more collaborative and connected
Hear it in context: “self defeating”
111 clipsThe English word “self defeating” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˌsɛlf.dɪˈfiː.tɪŋ (phonetic respelling: self-dih-FEE-ting). Phonologically, it consists of 4 syllables (self · dih · FEE · ting), with primary lexical stress placed on the 3rd syllable (FEE). Grammatically, “self defeating” functions as a adjective. SayItVid indexes 111 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “self defeating” in natural connected speech across American (US: 3 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from Harvard University.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (3 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #1 · @2:31
“past I see our politics actually moving beyond these rather divided and polarized and self defeating times to a much more collaborative and connected form of politics um in other words uh the internet uh governing in the”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #2 · @4:01
“people in whatever way I can and to try to like get them to be more self-critical especially about their self defeating and self-limiting putting themselves down we can't do anything it's all hopeless nothing to be done”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @45:11
“using public money to help fund the education that there's a certain amount of self defeating purpose in answering that question. To be honest public schools have a monumentally larger challenge in”
Definition & Meaning: “self defeating”
- Acting or proceeding in a way that is contrary to one's own best interests or likely to frustrate one's own goals.
Example Sentences (3)
- “His constant procrastination proved to be entirely self-defeating when it came to meeting the project deadline.”
- “polarized and self defeating times to a much more collaborative and connected”
- “self-critical especially about their self defeating and self-limiting putting”
Pronounce: “self defeating”
- Pronunciation:
- self-dih-FEE-ting
- Syllables:
- self · dih · FEE · ting
- Written Hyphenation:
- self · de · feat · ing
- Primary stress:
- FEE
- IPA:
- ˌsɛlf.dɪˈfiː.tɪŋ
- Hear it in context
- self defeating
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"self defeating" (⁄ˌsɛlf.dɪˈfiː.tɪŋ⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "self defeating" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about self defeating
How do you pronounce “self defeating”?
“self defeating” is pronounced ⁄ˌsɛlf.dɪˈfiː.tɪŋ⁄ (self-dih-FEE-ting). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “self defeating”?
“self defeating” has 4 syllables: self · dih · FEE · ting.
Where is the stress in “self defeating”?
The primary stress in “self defeating” is on “FEE”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “self defeating” mean?
Acting or proceeding in a way that is contrary to one's own best interests or likely to frustrate one's own goals.
How can I hear “self defeating” used in real sentences?
This page has 111 real-world video examples of “self defeating” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “self defeating”?
Pronouncing a hard, aspirated [tʰ] in casual conversation can sound overly formal in North America. In American English, a single "t" between vowels quickly taps against the alveolar ridge like a soft "d" ([ɾ]). In British English, maintain a crisp aspirated [tʰ].