as in egotistical
overly concerned with one's own desires, needs, or interests
a selfish desire to succeed at the expense of others
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of selfish
But to prioritize your feelings over everything else — including their happiness and even their ability to contact you — seems selfish to me.
—
Philip Galanes, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
No selfish deed goes unpunished in this lakeside refuge.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 28 Dec. 2024
Depending on the perspective, health insurers operate for the betterment of society or their own selfish gain; or their actions are defined more by external rules, regulations, and competitive positioning.
—Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
But that isn't the case here, as the Redditor said people are accusing them of being selfish for wanting to shut down the speech.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for selfish 
Philip Galanes, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
No selfish deed goes unpunished in this lakeside refuge.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 28 Dec. 2024
Depending on the perspective, health insurers operate for the betterment of society or their own selfish gain; or their actions are defined more by external rules, regulations, and competitive positioning.
—Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
But that isn't the case here, as the Redditor said people are accusing them of being selfish for wanting to shut down the speech.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for selfish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selfish
Adjective
-
This was my chance to not be an actor, not have that stink of being an actor, that egotistical, show-off, controlling, making choices, being clever part of being an actor.Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
-
The film, which centers on a group of egotistical actors making a Vietnam War movie, grossed nearly $200 million worldwide and picked up an Oscar nomination for supporting actor thanks to Robert Downey Jr.Zack Sharf, Variety, 26 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Once Leo Season begins on the 22nd, and Chiron begins its retrograde in Aries on the 26th, our mission will be to cultivate a healthy relationship with our own self-esteem without veering into narcissistic or egocentric tendencies.Dossé-Via Trenou, refinery29.com, 29 June 2024
-
So begins possibly the most egocentric quest to humble oneself the stage has yet seen.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
In the teaser, David says that every single person is a narcissistic psychopath on this show.Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Jan. 2025
-
Her narcissistic abuser father Bob (French Stewart).Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Sitting on the sidelines and labeling someone else as self-centered is easy.Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
-
The Herod book doesn’t make her attitude about segregation less myopic and self-centered.Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Teens and young adults have been self-absorbed with appearance since at least the Boomer generation began coming of age in the rock-and-roll ’50s.Greg Petro, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
-
Journalists can be a hyper-competitive bunch who grow self-absorbed under the stress of tight deadlines and long hours.Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Needless to say, this particular motive is not mentioned in Biden’s solipsistic and self-pitying statement.Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
-
The old tourist is essentially the boorish figure from the headlines—solipsistic, oriented toward the self, someone who superimposes their fantasies onto a place and then is outraged when their expectations aren’t met.Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 30 June 2024
Adjective
-
A little self-involved, but the check clears either way.Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2024
-
Don’t be too proud to accept help or too self-involved to provide it in return.Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 30 July 2024
Adjective
-
The potential for self-serving bias and belief bias are evident.Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
-
For officials in China and Russia, de facto adversaries of the United States, the Iraq War is an easy precedent to put forward to shoot down Washington’s talking points, no matter how self-serving and cynical that may be.Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near selfish
Cite this Entry
“Selfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/selfish. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share