selfish
[sel-fish]
- 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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Origin of selfish
Synonyms
See more synonyms for selfish on Thesaurus.com1. self-interested, self-seeking, egoistic; illiberal, parsimonious, stingy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for selfishness
Contemporary Examples
The pontiff blasts the selfishness, arrogance and detachment of the cardinals in Rome.
Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite’s 'Spiritual Alzheimer’s'Barbie Latza Nadeau
December 23, 2014
Fatigue, sadness, or psychosis is not about choice or laziness or selfishness.
In the abstract, these harsh truths steer the soul perilously close to selfishness or, worse, Objectivism.
Phil goes through so much to lose his selfishness, to put self aside, that his redemption feels earned.
The pursuit of happiness is a double-edged sword; self-reliance often bleeds into selfishness.
'Breaking Bad's' Series Finale Cements Its Status As One of the All-Time GreatsAndrew Romano
September 30, 2013
Historical Examples
But do try to believe, at the same time, that my own selfishness has been a kindness to you.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
"He is cruel, and the very incarnation of selfishness," he said.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
In the selfishness of his misery he looked upon this as lack of sympathy with himself.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
God had made Amy so that she had less trouble from selfishness than all but a few people.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
Ambition, selfishness, and the love of success, were alike his inspiration and his ruin.
The Boy Life of NapoleonEugenie Foa
selfish
- 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
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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
Word Origin and History for selfishness
selfish
adj.
1630s, from self- + -ish. Said in Hacket's life of Archbishop Williams (1693) to have been coined by Presbyterians. In the 17c., synonyms included self-seeking (1620s), self-ended and self-ful.
Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs. [Richard Dawkins, "The Selfish Gene," 1976]
Related: Selfishly; selfishness. Cf. similar formations in German selbstisch, Swedish sjelfvisk, Danish selvisk.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper