selfishness

American

[sel-fish-nis] / ˈsɛl fɪʃ nɪs /

noun

the quality or state of caring only for oneself or one’s own interests.

The author rants at length about the selfishness and general disregard for others that he sees at the root of modern society.

Etymology

Origin of selfishness

selfish ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Compare meaning

How does selfishness compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

self-interest vs. selfishness

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.

“First of all, I’ve served this party for a long time. I don’t do it out of selfishness, by any means,” she said at a Saturday gathering where she provided breakfast burritos to delegates.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2026

Not worrying about what others think of you reveals a selfishness, a lack of empathy, a disrespect for your professional environment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Winners are primed to yell over the music playing them off, but competing against a visual measure of one’s alleged selfishness had more of a chilling effect.

From Salon • Sep. 15, 2025

I’m asking you to be distracted from that so I can consolidate my power without you complaining—so that you think I’m doing it in service to you when, actually, I’m doing it in selfishness.

From Slate • Jul. 28, 2025

Everything—our houses, our clothes, our hairstyles—is meant to help us forget ourselves and to protect us from vanity, greed, and envy, which are just forms of selfishness.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023