Autocritical

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɔːtəʊˈkɹɪtɪkəl/

Definitions

1. Involving a tendency to assess oneself critically while examining personal thoughts, actions, and motivations
2. Relating to the process of self-analysis that involves scrutinizing one’s own beliefs and behaviors with a discerning eye
3. Characterized by an inclination to engage in self-evaluation that thoroughly examines and critiques one’s own thoughts, actions, and motivations

Etymology: Ancient Greek "kritikos" meant "able to judge," and it grew out of "krinein," "to separate, decide, judge." Latin borrowed it as "criticus," and English later took "critical" from that line, with the sense of judging or discerning. The word you are looking at adds a Greek prefix to it: "auto-," from Greek "autos," meaning "self." Put together, "autocritical" means judging oneself, and in practice it usually describes judging oneself harshly. The first half of the word is a compound from the same stock of Greek words that gives English "automatic" and "autonomy." The second half, "critical," carries the Greek idea of making a decision or distinguishing between things, which is why a critic is someone who separates good from bad. Turned inward, that act of separating becomes a steady habit of finding one's own faults.