self-abasement

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

self-abasement
    n 1: voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for some
         wrongdoing [syn: {penance}, {self-mortification}, {self-
         abasement}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Self-abasement \Self`-a*base"ment\, n.
   1. Degradation of one's self by one's own act.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Humiliation or abasement proceeding from consciousness of
      inferiority, guilt, or shame.
      [1913 Webster]

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

44 Moby Thesaurus words for "self-abasement":
      abasement, altruism, comedown, commitment, consecration,
      debasement, dedication, deflation, descent, devotion, disgrace,
      disinterest, disinterestedness, dump, embarrassment, hangdog look,
      humbled pride, humiliation, humility, letdown, modesty,
      mortification, put-down, sacrifice, self-abnegation, self-denial,
      self-devotion, self-diminishment, self-effacement,
      self-forgetfulness, self-immolation, self-neglect,
      self-neglectfulness, self-renouncement, self-sacrifice,
      self-subjection, selflessness, setdown, shame, shamefacedness,
      shamefastness, unacquisitiveness, unpossessiveness,
      unselfishness