self-centered
Americanadjective
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concerned solely or chiefly with one's own interests, welfare, etc.; engrossed in self; selfish; egotistical.
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independent, self-sufficient.
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centered in oneself or itself.
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Archaic. fixed; unchanging.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-centered
First recorded in 1670–80
Explanation
A self-centered person is excessively concerned with himself and his own needs. He's selfish. You probably know some people who always talk about themselves, make every issue about themselves, and are generally all about "Me, me, me!" People like that are self-centered: as the word suggests, they are overly centered on themselves. Self-centered people tend to ignore the needs of others and only do what's best for them. You can also call them egocentric, egoistic, and egoistical. In the seventeenth century, however, self-centered meant "fixed or stationary."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was a self-centered burst of kindness that ran counter to much of what Reed was known for.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Obviously, boomers are not all self-centered; they may require more help as they age.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025
The fact that they are being paid to do this, with all the trappings of every parents-under-stress reality show, only adds to the air of self-centered exploitation.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2025
But plenty of us have self-centered people in our lives whom we do not want to cut off or gray rock—and for that, we might need to get off Reddit and talk to a therapist.
From Slate • Aug. 5, 2024
And yet, while she was singing with pleasure and dying with laughter over her own inventions, Aureliano was becoming more and more absorbed and silent, for his passion was self-centered and burning.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
