as in egotistical
overly concerned with one's own desires, needs, or interests
a selfish desire to succeed at the expense of others
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Recent Examples of selfish
Again, prioritizing your mental health isn’t selfish, both experts agree.
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Jenna Ryu, SELF, 6 Dec. 2024
Season one is a smutty yet wonderful crescendo of self-destruction driven by a cast of characters that includes Fleabag’s intensely awkward sister Claire (Sian Clifford), her selfish and pretentious stepmother (Olivia Colman), and her clueless father (Bill Paterson).
—Matt Kamen, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024
Warm feelings fueled by the wonder and kindness of the season, inspired by the transformative and timeless experiences of Ebenezer Scrooge who changed from a selfish, penny-pinching grouch, into a generous, happy and altruistic person.
—Eric C. Shuster, Austin American-Statesman, 6 Dec. 2024
The high price for Yoon’s selfish martial law debacle will be paid over time, in installments, by South Korea’s 51 million people.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for selfish 
Jenna Ryu, SELF, 6 Dec. 2024
Season one is a smutty yet wonderful crescendo of self-destruction driven by a cast of characters that includes Fleabag’s intensely awkward sister Claire (Sian Clifford), her selfish and pretentious stepmother (Olivia Colman), and her clueless father (Bill Paterson).
—Matt Kamen, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024
Warm feelings fueled by the wonder and kindness of the season, inspired by the transformative and timeless experiences of Ebenezer Scrooge who changed from a selfish, penny-pinching grouch, into a generous, happy and altruistic person.
—Eric C. Shuster, Austin American-Statesman, 6 Dec. 2024
The high price for Yoon’s selfish martial law debacle will be paid over time, in installments, by South Korea’s 51 million people.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for selfish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selfish
Adjective
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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
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And with Elon Musk playing a key role in this new administration, who knows in which direction his bombastic, egotistical whims may take AI development?Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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So begins possibly the most egocentric quest to humble oneself the stage has yet seen.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2024
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Some of the men have been described as egocentric, aggressive, and routinely unfaithful.Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Her narcissistic abuser father Bob (French Stewart).Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Jan. 2025
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Imagine how this narcissistic comparison with and denigration of another man with the same name must have felt to that man and his family.Fred Medinger, Baltimore Sun, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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In Japan, however, where modesty and formality are valued in leadership, such a style might seem self-centered or inappropriate.Sarat Chakravarthi, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
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So, how do good leaders operate with confidence without coming across as arrogant or self-centered?Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
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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
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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
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A little self-involved, but the check clears either way.Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2024
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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
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The potential for self-serving bias and belief bias are evident.Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
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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 5 Jan. 2025.
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