What does "selfish" mean?
Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making.
Selfish
/ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/ adj
adj ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making.
- Grammar: selfish is listed as adj.
- Nearest alternatives: egocentric, acquisitive, ambitious for self, audacious.
- Useful contrasts: self-abnegatory, altruistic, attentive.
- Usage evidence: Perhaps you are right, I have been selfish.
How to use "selfish"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "selfish" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "selfish" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "selfish" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "selfish" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "selfish" is acting as adj in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "egocentric" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "selfish", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making.
"“We all have both a selfish separate self, and an Inner Being that is One with the Universal Spirit. In this sense, every human has a sort of ‘split personality’. We are all kind of what you call ‘schitzy’ with these two sides, these two people living within us. And they are in total opposition. The free will dictates which of these two sides will have its way in our life, at every given moment.”"
- 2 Having excessive or exclusive regard and concern for one's own well-being, profit or pleasure, with little or no consideration for others.
"Take warning by my fate, and shun that flowery and bewitching path; for in its labyrinths the good, the gentle, the kind-hearted, and the benevolent, are too often lost; while the sordid and the selfish scarcely so much as run a hazard."
- 3 Of video game characters: relying on their own actions and capabilities to be effective in the game, rather than on other characters.
"With that said, there is a perk to Xiao being a selfish DPS. He plays like Razor where he needs to be out in the field more than 90 percent of the time. Compared to Diluc, Xiao is more independent when it comes to dealing damage."
- 4 Related to or equivalent to a selfish gene; best understood as existing to preserve and replicate itself in competition with other entities at the same level of existence, rather than at the level of the individual or population containing it.
"Discoveries of selfish genetic elements often follow from the emergence of a selfish phenotype either in a cross between members of closely related species, or in crosses involving individuals from different isolated populations within a species."
Adjective
- 1 concerned chiefly or only with yourself and your advantage to the exclusion of others wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Perhaps you are right, I have been selfish."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "selfish"?
Common synonyms include: egocentric, acquisitive, ambitious for self, audacious, autistic, avaricious.
How do you use "selfish" in a sentence?
Perhaps you are right, I have been selfish.
How do you pronounce "selfish"?
Pronounced /ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/.
Etymology
From self + -ish. Compare Danish selvisk (“selfish”), Swedish självisk (“selfish”).