egoism

American  

[ee-goh-iz-uhm, eg-oh-] / ˈi goʊˌɪz əm, ˈɛg oʊ- /

noun

1. the habit of valuing everything only in reference to one's personal interest; selfishness (opposed to altruism).

2. egotism or conceit.

3. Ethics. the view that morality ultimately rests on self-interest.

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egoism British  

/ ˈiːɡəʊˌɪzəm, ˈɛɡ- /

noun

1. concern for one's own interests and welfare

2. ethics the theory that the pursuit of one's own welfare is the highest good Compare altruism

3. self-centredness; egotism

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Synonym Usage

See egotism.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiegoism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of egoism

First recorded in 1775–85; from French égoïsme, from New Latin egoismus, equivalent to ego ego ( def. ) + -ismus -ism ( def. )

Explanation

Someone who is full of himself and doesn't give a darn about other people has a healthy supply of egoism. Egoism means "me me me me me-ism." Egoism has a lot to do with selfishness, which sounds like a bad thing, right? Not necessarily. Some people think that being selfish is the best thing to do for the world as a whole. In other words, if everyone is selfish, everyone will be better off. So egoism can be considered positive or negative — it all depends how someone uses the word. This makes egoism different from egotism — an always yucky type of selfishness.