selfish
Americanadjective
-
devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.
- Synonyms:
- stingy, parsimonious, illiberal, egoistic, self-seeking, self-interested
-
characterized by or manifesting concern or care only for oneself.
selfish motives.
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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of selfish
Compare meaning
How does selfish compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Someone who is selfish cares only about themselves and doesn't consider others. If a ship is sinking and you refuse to let anyone else into your 4-person lifeboat, you're extremely selfish. Selfish combines the pronoun self-, meaning to or for yourself, with the suffix-ish, for "having the character of." So if your actions are selfish, they all have to do with getting something for yourself, like attention, or candy, or power. Selfish is usually meant to be an insult; someone selfish goes beyond just taking care of themselves, and actively takes from others. The opposite of selfish is self-sacrificing, which means, "giving everything to others and sacrificing your own needs."
Vocabulary lists containing selfish
More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Never Enough: Synonyms for "Greedy"
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We Were Liars
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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.
While both couples were being selfish, the official reactions to the two pairs couldn’t have been more different.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026
As a parent, did you ever face the thought that depression is selfish?
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
"It might sound quite selfish but this decision is genuinely the best thing for me right now," Stokes told Sky Sports.
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026
If you avoid advocating for yourself because it feels selfish or scary or bad.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
If he was thinking about that, and if Edward would not consider it, if Edward was being selfish and foolish, then Edward was wrong.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
