--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cruel words erode the self-esteem like…" description: "\"Cruel words erode the self-esteem like the ocean eats away the shore.\" — Abigail Van Buren" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/abigail-van-buren-13275_erode_cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-t_2083320.jpg" --- # Cruel words erode the self-esteem like the ocean eats away… ![“Cruel words erode the self-esteem like the ocean eats away the shore.” quote by Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/abigail-van-buren-13275_erode_cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-t_2083320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/abigail-van-buren-13275_erode_cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-t_2083320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/abigail-van-buren-13275_erode_cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-t_2083320.jpg) > “Cruel words erode the self-esteem like the ocean eats away the shore.” [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Harsh words erode self‑esteem gradually, much like ocean waves wear down a shore over time. **In simple terms:** Cruel remarks slowly damage confidence. Key Takeaway Guard against negative language to protect self‑worth. Themes self‑esteem language psychology erosion resilience Mood somber hopeful Type reflective therapeutic When to use this quote - therapy - writing - education Key Concepts emotional abuse inner dialogue mental health Questions to Reflect On - How do you repair damaged self‑esteem? - What language supports personal resilience? A Different Perspective Recovery can be slow and requires active effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) ## Related quotes > [The least lack of discipline starts to erode our self-esteem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-least-lack-of-discipline-starts-to-erode-our-self-esteem/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Rejection is a cancer, Edie. It eats away at a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/rejection-is-a-cancer-edie-it-eats-away-at-a-person/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Greed, in the end it becomes a disease that eats away heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greed-in-the-end-it-becomes-a-disease-that-eats-away-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“but this loneliness exists and eats away at the best parts of us because we must use all our energy to appear happy, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/but-this-loneliness-exists-and-eats-away-at-the-best-parts-of-us/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Once envy eats away at someone, everything you do only makes it grow, and day by day it festers inside him. Eventually he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/once-envy-eats-away-at-someone-everything-you-do-only-makes-it-grow/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [A state of chronic powerlessness eats away at a person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-state-of-chronic-powerlessness-eats-away-at-a-person/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [It sits in silence, eats away at me. It feeds like cancer. This guilt could fill a fucking sea. Pulling teeth, wolves at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bring-me-the-horizon/it-sits-in-silence-eats-away-at-me-it-feeds-like-cancer-this-guilt/) [Bring Me The Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bring-me-the-horizon/) > [Carrie Fay always says that nothing is really horrible unless it eats away your face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/carrie-fay-always-says-that-nothing-is-really-horrible-unless-it-eats/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [Loneliness becomes an acid that eats away at you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/loneliness-becomes-an-acid-that-eats-away-at-you/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [She was quiet for a moment or two. Then she said: Cruel words are a terrible thing, Quash. Sometimes you regret them. But what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-rutherfurd/she-was-quiet-for-a-moment-or-two-then-she-said-cruel-words-are-a/) [Edward Rutherfurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-rutherfurd/) > [“At last Paul went on. "I know how it is, son. You won't do it, you haven't the nerve for it-you're soft." He waited,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/at-last-paul-went-on-i-know-how-it-is-son-you-won-t-do-it-you-haven-t/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“My self-wroth is not linked to your cruel words and actions. My self-esteem is not affected by your deliberate attempts to destroy my character.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-cohen/my-self-wroth-is-not-linked-to-your-cruel-words-and-actions-my-self/) Marina Cohen > [“Then you must no longer think cruel thought. Cruel thoughts lead to cruel words, and hurt you as much as they hurt their target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/then-you-must-no-longer-think-cruel-thought-cruel-thoughts-lead-to/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Not my job to judge, boy." Baba Yaga filled and lit the pipe again. "But I do observe that its difficult to escape familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-harper/not-my-job-to-judge-boy-baba-yaga-filled-and-lit-the-pipe-again-but-i/) Steven Harper > [“It is only once you see the baffled expression on the face of your enemy when you give his cruel words a warm smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/it-is-only-once-you-see-the-baffled-expression-on-the-face-of-your/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) ## More by Abigail Van Buren > [Some People are more turned on by money than they are by love. In one respect they're alike. They're both wonderful as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/some-people-are-more-turned-on-by-money-than-they-are-by-love-in-one/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [Kids grow up awfully fast these days,"she said. "You should try to have a good relationship with your kids, no matter what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/kids-grow-up-awfully-fast-these-days-she-said-you-should-try-to-have/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [How should they answer?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/how-should-they-answer/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [If you don't value what you have, you're sure to lose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/if-you-don-t-value-what-you-have-you-re-sure-to-lose-it/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [“The best index to a perso's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good and how he treats people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/the-best-index-to-a-perso-s-character-is-how-he-treats-people-who-can/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [“In response to a letter regarding the writer's lack of religious belief: The lack of faith is not doubt. It is certainty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/in-response-to-a-letter-regarding-the-writer-s-lack-of-religious/) [Abigail van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [The lack of faith is not doubt. It is certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/the-lack-of-faith-is-not-doubt-it-is-certainty/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [“You could move.” ~Abigail Van Buren, "DEAR ABBY" In response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/you-could-move-abigail-van-buren-dear-abby-in-response-to-a-reader/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [The less you talk, the more you're listened to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/the-less-you-talk-the-more-you-re-listened-to/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [Fear less, hope more. Eat less, chew more. Talk less, say more. Hate less, love more...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/fear-less-hope-more-eat-less-chew-more-talk-less-say-more-hate-less/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [Accept every blind date you can get, even with a girl who wears jeans. Maybe you can talk her out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/accept-every-blind-date-you-can-get-even-with-a-girl-who-wears-jeans/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [It is true that I was born in Iowa, but I can't speak for my twin sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/it-is-true-that-i-was-born-in-iowa-but-i-can-t-speak-for-my-twin/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [“JUST FOR TODAY, I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/just-for-today-i-will-live-through-this-day-only-i-will-not-brood/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [You are what you are when nobody is looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/you-are-what-you-are-when-nobody-is-looking/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we'd all be millionaires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/if-we-could-sell-our-experiences-for-what-they-cost-us-we-d-all-be/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) [Explore all 51 Abigail Van Buren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) ## More Cruel quotes > [“History has a cruel way of disappointing optimists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thompson/history-has-a-cruel-way-of-disappointing-optimists/) Keith Thompson > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“Don't be so cruel to me. Don't promise me anything. I've got everything that i need. I need love in a good way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/don-t-be-so-cruel-to-me-don-t-promise-me-anything-i-ve-got-everything/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change. I hope this changes him. He could do so much, if only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/even-the-cruel-feel-pain-and-even-the-cruel-can-change-i-hope-this/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [“my power is as cruel a joke as it can get? That’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-d-anderson/my-power-is-as-cruel-a-joke-as-it-can-get-that-s/) Katie D. Anderson > [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You would think those who have endured unkindness would be kinder as a result, intent on sparing others the awful suffering they abhorred firsthand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/you-would-think-those-who-have-endured-unkindness-would-be-kinder-as/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [There is no kindness more cruel than the kindness which consigns another person to their sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-is-no-kindness-more-cruel-than-the-kindness-which-consigns/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Vanity can create a very cruel space for you if you don't know how to manage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/vanity-can-create-a-very-cruel-space-for-you-if-you-don-t-know-how-to/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Life is cruel and we do terrible things to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/life-is-cruel-and-we-do-terrible-things-to-each-other/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-people-loathe-the-most-is-to-be-orphaned-desolate-unworthy-but/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) Browse all 1,069 Cruel quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cruel words erode the self-esteem like the ocean eats away the shore.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abigail Van Buren" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-the-ocean-eats-away-the-shore/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cruel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-the-ocean-eats-away-the-shore/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/abigail-van-buren-13275_erode_cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-t_2083320.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/abigail-van-buren-13275_erode_cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-t_2083320.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/abigail-van-buren-13275_erode_cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-t_2083320.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cruel words erode the self-esteem like the ocean eats away the shore.” — Abigail Van Buren", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abigail Van Buren", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cruel words erode the self-esteem like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-the-ocean-eats-away-the-shore/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/cruel-words-erode-the-self-esteem-like-the-ocean-eats-away-the-shore/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```