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.
Setting boundaries with others is not a selfish act.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Damon’s Odysseus captures all the heroic arrogance, bravery and selfish stupidity of an action-flick brawler who would shoot a giant cyclops in the eye as he’s making his escape, just because.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
You have to get completely selfish about it in a good way — tell people what you need, whether it’s wanting 10 people in the room or for everybody to get out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
He called the offending "organised and sophisticated criminality which has been committed for selfish gain".
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
“I don’t get it. You both saw how selfish he was. You both warned me about him. Why was I so blind?”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
