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
When you visit a farm-to-table restaurant and order the wild-nettle sformato for thirty dollars, the line between social consciousness and self-gratification disappears.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 24, 2016
Or if he devotes himself properly to his vocation he may consume his earnings in current self-gratification.
From Creating Capital Money-making as an aim in business by Lipman, Frederick L. (Frederic Lockwood)
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.
