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Synonyms

egocentric

American  
[ee-goh-sen-trik, eg-oh-] / ˌi goʊˈsɛn trɪk, ˌɛg oʊ- /

adjective

  1. having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things.

    an egocentric philosophy that ignores social causes.

  2. having little or no regard for interests, beliefs, or attitudes other than one's own; self-centered.

    an egocentric person; egocentric demands upon the time and patience of others.

    Synonyms:
    self-obsessed, self-absorbed
    Antonyms:
    unselfish, altruistic

noun

  1. an egocentric person.

egocentric British  
/ ˌiːɡəʊˈsɛntrɪk, ˌɛɡ- /

adjective

  1. regarding everything only in relation to oneself; self-centred; selfish

  2. philosophy pertaining to a theory in which everything is considered in relation to the self

    an egocentric universe

"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

noun

  1. a self-centred person; egotist

"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
egocentric Cultural  
  1. Preoccupied with one's own concerns.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of egocentric

First recorded in 1895–1900; ego + -centric

Explanation

If you are egocentric, the whole world centers on you and you don't pay much attention to other people. Are you even listening to me? Egocentric is a pretty recent word (from the early 20th century) and it quite literally means "self-centered." Does its recent invention mean that the human race is becoming more egocentric? If you're concerned about that possibility, maybe you're not as egocentric as I thought.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing egocentric

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.

See Examples For:

Developers think feeding first-person footage, called "egocentric data", into specialised AI models will help robots copy humans.

From Barron's Jun. 11, 2026

Psychopathy is generally associated with an egocentric and antisocial personality pattern.

From Science Daily May 10, 2026

Man or woman, Morris remained imperious, snobbish and egocentric.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 23, 2026

There was a study done by some researchers from China where they found that being in nature, you’re not so egocentric.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 21, 2025

In order to be profoundly dishonest, a person must have one of two qualities: either he is unscrupulously ambitious, or he is unswervingly egocentric.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

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