INDEX:
1. selfish
2. selfish behaviour or a selfish attitude
3. not selfish
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ GENEROUS/NOT GENEROUS
↑ PROUD
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1. selfish
▷ selfish /ˈselfɪʃ/ [adjective]
someone who is selfish only thinks about what they need or want, and never thinks about how other people feel or what other people want :
▪ Amy, don’t be selfish. Let the others have a turn.
▪ Carter has never been a selfish player.
▪ It’s not that I’m selfish. I just don’t loan out my tools anymore.
▪ Sometimes it’s all right to be a little selfish, and forget about everyone else for a change.
selfishly [adverb]
▪ Her husband behaved extremely selfishly.
▷ self-centred British /self-centered American /ˌself ˈsentəʳd◂/ [adjective]
paying so much attention to yourself that you do not notice what is happening to other people :
▪ He was too self-centered to notice how unhappy Ruth was.
▪ Jill’s attractive and pleasant to talk to, but she’s extremely self-centred.
▪ Our whole society has become selfish and self-centered.
▷ egocentric /ˌiːgəʊˈsentrɪk, ˌe-/ [adjective]
someone who is egocentric believes that what they do and think is much more important than what anyone else thinks or does :
▪ Fox plays an egocentric movie star.
▪ He was a man of undoubted genius, but bad-tempered, egocentric, and impossible to live with.
▪ Older children are less egocentric than younger ones, and more willing to accept other people’s ideas.
▷ think of nobody but yourself/only think about yourself /θɪŋk əv ˌnəʊbədi bət jɔːʳˈself, əʊnli ˌθɪŋk əbaʊt jɔːʳˈself/ [verb phrase] informal
to be selfish, especially when you are making plans or arrangements :
▪ Before I had children, I only thought about myself and what I wanted.
▪ You never think about anyone but yourself - we needed that money!
▷ look out for yourself/look after number one /lʊk ˌaʊt fəʳ jɔːʳˈself, lʊk ˌɑːftəʳ ˌnʌmbəʳ ˈwʌnǁ-ˌæf-/ [verb phrase] informal
to behave selfishly, especially in a situation where this is necessary because everyone else is doing the same :
▪ I don’t blame anyone for looking out for themselves, that’s human nature.
▪ In the 1980s, the message was clear -- look out for number one and give no thought to the rest of society.
2. selfish behaviour or a selfish attitude
▷ selfishness /ˈselfɪʃnɪs, ˈselfɪʃnəs/ [uncountable noun]
▪ At the time, I didn’t see my decision as selfishness.
▪ I was appalled by the greed and selfishness of some of the men I worked with.
pure selfishness
▪ Miller’s crime, that of espionage, was a crime motivated by pure selfishness, said the trial judge.
▷ self-interest /self ˈɪntrə̇st/ [uncountable noun]
a selfish attitude that makes you do things only for selfish reasons, especially in business or politics :
▪ Advertising is most effective when it appeals directly to people’s self-interest.
▪ Our country’s role in the world must be determined by economic self-interest.
▷ I’m all right, Jack /ˌaɪm ɔːl ˈraɪt ˌdʒæk/ British informal
someone with an I’m all right, Jack attitude is only concerned that their own life is satisfactory, and does not care about other people - used especially in newspapers :
▪ The Prime Minister criticized people for their ‘I’m all right, Jack’ approach to social policy.
3. not selfish
▷ unselfish /ʌnˈselfɪʃ/ [adjective]
▪ She is an outgoing, unselfish, and loving person.
▪ It’s a good team - they listen to the coaching and they’re unselfish with the ball.
▪ Abernathy was a man of great courage and an unselfish dedication to a just cause.
unselfishly [adverb]
▪ Throughout her career she unselfishly devoted herself to the cause of free, universal education.
▷ selfless /ˈselfləs/ [adjective]
caring only about other people’s needs, not your own, and never behaving selfishly :
▪ The idea of the selfless, self-sacrificing mother is not one that appeals to most women these days.
selfless devotion/sacrifice/concern etc
▪ We must remember the selfless sacrifice of our soldiers.
selflessly [adverb]
▪ The medical staff here work selflessly and tirelessly, seven days a week.
▷ altruistic /ˌæltruˈɪstɪk◂/ [adjective]
sincerely concerned about other people and willing to help them or give money to them if they need it, without trying to get any advantage for yourself :
▪ You can’t expect a large corporation to be altruistic.
▪ Companies that donate books or equipment to schools that collect their tokens are not being entirely altruistic - after all, you have to buy the products to get the tokens.
altruism /ˈæltru-ɪz ə m/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Top politicians aren’t usually motivated by altruism.