egoistic
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or of the nature of egoism.
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being centered in or preoccupied with oneself and the gratification of one's own desires; self-centered (opposed to altruistic).
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of egoistic
Explanation
Egoistic people believe we all put our own needs before those of others. If you're sure that self-interest inspires every human action — yes, even rescuing that sweet kitten from a tree — then you, my friend, are egoistic. Don't confuse egoistic with egotistic, a word which is often, and wrongly, used interchangeably with it. To be egotistic is to have too inflated an opinion of yourself — in other words, it's a form of self-delusion rather than a particular way of looking at the world. You can be egoistic without being egotistic. Got it?
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.
Varieties of Egoism.—The egoist may set his affections upon pleasure, and become a representative of Egoistic Hedonism, the variety of egoism normally treated as typical and made the subject of criticism in ethical treatises.
From A Handbook of Ethical Theory by Fullerton, George Stuart
Egoistic he might be, but selfish he was not.
From Austin and His Friends by Balfour, Frederic H.
Egoistic impatience had placed false weights and measures in my hands.
From The Goose Man by Porterfield, Allen Wilson
Eudemonism, Eud�monism, ū-dē′mon-izm, n. the system of ethics that makes happiness the test of rectitude—whether Egoistic, as Hobbes, or Altruistic, as Mill.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
And, moreover, as has been noticed, the adherents of theories of Egoistic Morals are not necessarily adherents of any theory of selfishness.
From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by Williams, C. M.
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.
