self-gratification
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of self-gratification
First recorded in 1670–80
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.
Crucially, these collected lyrics aren’t an exercise in self-gratification; Sondheim is insightful and unsparing about his own mistakes, even the ones that only he is smart enough to see.
From Slate • Nov. 18, 2019
They may not use his particular cover and cast pitiless self-gratification as a healing touch.
From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2018
“There’s a lot of self-gratification in helping people. I can’t believe people send us thank-you notes for something we get paid to do.”
From Washington Times • Feb. 6, 2017
“It refers to those aspects of well-being that transcend immediate self-gratification and connect people to something larger,” she said.
From The New Yorker • Jul. 7, 2016
Thus, in the haunts of seclusion and solitary thought our acquirements may only prove availing to ourselves as matters of self-gratification.
From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume IV. The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century by Rogers, Charles
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.
