selfish

[ sel-fish ]

/ ˈsɛl fɪʃ /

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adjective

devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.

characterized by or manifesting concern or care only for oneself: selfish motives.

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OTHER WORDS FOR selfish

1 self-interested, self-seeking, egoistic; illiberal, parsimonious, stingy.

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True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Origin of selfish

First recorded in 1630–40; self + -ish¹

OTHER WORDS FROM selfish

self·ish·ly, adverbself·ish·ness, noun

Words nearby selfish

self-instructional, self-insurance, self-insure, self-insurer, self-interest, selfish, selfishness, self-judgment, self-justification, self-justifying, self-knowledge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use selfish in a sentence

For her postdoctoral work, Zanders focused on a particular type of dustup caused by some selfish genes — genes that propagate themselves even if it hurts the host.
This year’s SN 10 scientists aim to solve some of science’s biggest challenges|Science News Staff|September 30, 2020|Science News
The most effective strategy was the selfish strategy where everyone tried to go as fast as possible.
Complexity Scientist Beats Traffic Jams Through Adaptation|Rodrigo Pérez Ortega|September 28, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Their response to the pandemic and this great work that pharma people are doing has reminded many of their capacities and how they can be helpful to the world—as opposed to the industry being viewed as kind of selfish and uncooperative.
When Bill Gates thinks we’ll have a COVID-19 vaccine—and why that won’t be the end of the pandemic|cleaf2013|September 21, 2020|Fortune
The next day the mayor called the partiers “absolutely reckless and selfish,” and she closed the beach parking to make an example of them.
The Climate Crisis Is Happening Right Now. Just Look at California’s Weekend.|by Elizabeth Weil|September 9, 2020|ProPublica

I feel selfish in a sense because I’m one of the lucky ones.
We need a COVID vaccine. We also need to figure out how to get it to people|Sy Mukherjee|August 27, 2020|Fortune
Emetophobia tends to compromise my relationships, turning me into a selfish jerk.
Why My Norovirus Panic Makes Me Sick|Lizzie Crocker|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Self-marriage is the ultimate brand extension of a self-obsessed, selfish populus.
Why Singles Should Say ‘I Don’t’ to The Self-Marriage Movement|Tim Teeman|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Scrooge is still with us, not just in print but embodied in the cold hearts and selfish calculations of misanthropes everywhere.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What should have been a moment of reckoning for a selfish, serial liar instead ended with us pitying him.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Self Help’: A Grim Show Displays Its Comedy Streak, and A Major Reveal|Melissa Leon|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What if an affair is a process of positive self-discovery rather than selfish carnal impulses?
Why You’re Happily Married and Having an Affair|Ryan Selzer|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His ambition is a purely selfish one, while mine is distinctly benevolent.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
No, no,” added Mr. Pickwick more cheerfully, “it would be selfish and ungrateful.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
One would imagine, to hear these (p. 171) people talk, that smoking was the only selfish indulgence in the world.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
"I fear, for my part, it is only a very selfish pleasure," he said a trifle unctuously.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
Let no opportunity be missed of exposing the true character of the vile and selfish agitators of the Anti-corn-law league.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for selfish

selfish

/ (ˈsɛlfɪʃ) /

adjective

chiefly concerned with one's own interest, advantage, etc, esp to the total exclusion of the interests of others

relating to or characterized by self-interest

Derived forms of selfish

selfishly, adverbselfishness, noun

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

selfish

COMPARE MEANINGS

OTHER WORDS FOR selfish

Origin of selfish

OTHER WORDS FROM selfish

Words nearby selfish

Words related to selfish

How to use selfish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for selfish

Derived forms of selfish