altruism
the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism).
Animal Behavior. behavior by an animal that may be to its disadvantage but that benefits others of its kind, as a warning cry that reveals the location of the caller to a predator.
Origin of altruism
1Other words from altruism
- hy·per·al·tru·ism, noun
Words Nearby altruism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use altruism in a sentence
The altruism these three companies express is not driven by profits, but it could have a positive effect on their bottom lines.
To court socially minded millennials, some wineries are investing in more than grapes | Dave McIntyre | January 22, 2021 | Washington PostThe reason she joined the trial in the first place was altruism, and a sense of contributing to the quest for vaccines, rather than her own possible early access to a shot, she said.
Elderly begin to drop out of Novavax vaccine trial to get Pfizer and Moderna shots | Christopher Rowland | January 19, 2021 | Washington PostWe often see examples of altruism and people living together.
Humans Have Gotten Nicer and Better at Making War - Issue 94: Evolving | Steve Paulson | January 6, 2021 | NautilusAn fMRI experiment examining the neural bases of altruism found that when people gave to charities, brain areas associated with pleasure and social attachment were activated—something known as the “warm glow” effect.
Stories about altruism, culture, fashion history, sustainability and ethical production became top topics that readers were reading and searching for.
How Vogue’s international approach to audience data helped it reach record readers | Kayleigh Barber | December 18, 2020 | Digiday
And the men, of course, cannot always, or probably even usually, be acting out of altruism.
Have Sperm, Will Travel: The ‘Natural Inseminators’ Helping Women Avoid the Sperm Bank | Elizabeth Picciuto | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe believes brain chemistry undermines his sense of free will and personhood and that psychology explains away love and altruism.
Of course, Ford was motivated more by self-interest than by altruism.
Henry Ford Understood That Raising Wages Would Bring Him More Profit | Daniel Gross | January 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut following Black Hawk Down, it became clear that international altruism could be costly.
The Ant and the Peacock is about two disagreements between Darwin and Wallace: altruism and sexual selection.
What Richard Dawkins Reads: Jerry Coyne, Helena Cronin and More | Josh Dzieza | September 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThis country reaps the benefit of this first step in altruism based on the highest Christian and democratic doctrines.
The Leaven in a Great City | Lillian William BettsHe made no concessions to any man; pity and altruism were not in his vocabulary.
The Transformation of Job | Frederick Vining FisherCharity, kindness, altruism, all the gentler emotions—I foreswore them.
The Secret Witness | George GibbsThe new Klan, in its great piety and altruism denies that it has an initiation fee at all.
The Modern Ku Klux Klan | Henry Peck FryOn this basis sufficient inspiration for personal righteousness and altruism is afforded by the world's need of just these things.
The Minister and the Boy | Allan Hoben
British Dictionary definitions for altruism
/ (ˈæltruːˌɪzəm) /
the principle or practice of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
the philosophical doctrine that right action is that which produces the greatest benefit to others
Origin of altruism
1- Compare egoism
- See also utilitarianism
Derived forms of altruism
- altruist, noun
- altruistic, adjective
- altruistically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for altruism
[ ăl′trōō-ĭz′əm ]
Instinctive behavior that is detrimental or without reproductive benefit to the individual but that favors the survival or spread of that individual's genes. The willingness of a subordinate member of a wolf pack to forgo mating and help care for the dominant pair's pups is an example of altruistic behavior. While the individual may not reproduce, or may reproduce less often, its behavior helps ensure that a close relative does successfully reproduce, thus passing on a large share of the altruistic individual's genetic material.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for altruism
[ (al-trooh-iz-uhm) ]
A selfless concern for others.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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