noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The instinctive behaviour that protects oneself from harm. uncountable

   "I'm here to tell you want to do. And if self-preservation is an instinct you possess, you better fuckin' do it and do it quick."

2. 2
   preservation of yourself from harm; a natural or instinctive tendency wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

avoidance reactiondefencedefensedefense in depthdefense mechanismdefenses

Example

More examples

"Does the term self-preservation mean anything to you?"

Etymology

From self- + preservation.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.