self-love
Americannoun
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the instinct by which one's actions are directed to the promotion of one's own welfare or well-being, especially an excessive regard for one's own advantage.
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conceit; vanity.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-love
First recorded in 1555–65
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.
The diet culture of the ’90s was never totally vanquished, and Ozempic has complicated narratives about body size, health, and self-love, to put it mildly.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026
In 2014, Rivera-Amador and Hollinquest founded the Radical Monarchs in Oakland — giving girls and gender expansive youth of color ages 8 through 13 a safe space to practice self-love, sisterhood and activism.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
The self-love script took hold in part because it offered a comforting narrative.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
But even if you haven’t surrendered to the catchiness of “Golden,” the plot’s infectious reflections on acceptance and self-love are unimpeachable for fans of any age.
From Salon • Dec. 19, 2025
He clothed his motives in the names of virtue, and I have wondered whether he ever knew that no gift will ever buy back a man’s love when you have removed his self-love.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
