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
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of selfish
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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.
Coroner Elizabeth Wheeler recorded a conclusion of death by misadventure but added: "I am concerned that selfish and illegal parking can have an impact of delaying emergency vehicles which can have implications for future deaths."
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been "selfish" and should be dropped from the squad for the Reds' final match of the season against Brentford at Anfield, says former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Which is why you might want to take an interest in what’s actually happening inside these homes — even if only for selfish reasons.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
He discovers additional benefits in the process: “Characters revealed themselves as I assumed their points of view, especially when exploring their best defenses for selfish and heinous actions.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
“You listen to me, child, and you listen well. The dead are cold, greedy things. They are shallow, they are selfish, and they only care about themselves.”
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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.
