self-love

American  

[self-luhv] / ˈsɛlfˈlʌv /

noun

1. the instinct by which one's actions are directed to the promotion of one's own welfare or well-being, especially an excessive regard for one's own advantage.

2. conceit; vanity.

3. narcissism.

---

self-love British  

noun

1. the instinct or tendency to seek one's own well-being or to further one's own interest

---

Other Word Forms

• self-loving
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of self-love

First recorded in 1555–65

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-love

I’d argue that it is actually an expression of supreme self-love and self-awareness that you’re comfortable enough with yourself to be absolutely content going to a concert as a party of one.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026

The long-suffering younger Forster described his father, in an understatement, as having “a tendency toward self-love, pride, and a certain scholarly vanity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

The diet culture of the ’90s was never totally vanquished, and Ozempic has complicated narratives about body size, health, and self-love, to put it mildly.

From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026

In 2014, Rivera-Amador and Hollinquest founded the Radical Monarchs in Oakland — giving girls and gender expansive youth of color ages 8 through 13 a safe space to practice self-love, sisterhood and activism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

It was rather like that Christmas morning sensation of being about to give a present that was bound to cause delight, a joyful feeling of blameless self-love.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---