How to Use self-interest in a Sentence

self-interest

noun
  • And that seems to almost run counter to one’s own self-interest.
    Sean Illing, Vox, 7 July 2024
  • Still, the movie is smart enough to ask: How much denial and self-interest are at the root of Sharon’s selflessness?
    Jen Yamato, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024
  • Illinois Democrats must summon the courage and will to put the people of Illinois ahead of their own self-interest.
    Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2024
  • His self-interest and careerism are clear even in a place where self-interest and careerism are the order of the day.
    Aja Romano, Vox, 17 July 2024
  • This is where the accusation of self-interest comes to bear.
    Sam Dean, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
  • If only one of you cares for the other, then the one who chooses self-interest gets it all as the generous one loses out.
    Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 16 June 2023
  • Rather than appeal to France’s self-interest, Franklin aimed higher.
    Eric Weiner, TIME, 11 June 2024
  • And self-interest, as both Hamilton and Madison agreed, is a great motor to the state, checked properly and balanced.
    John Nogowski, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2024
  • It will be answered by weighing the rights of creators against the self-interest of commercial entrepreneurs.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Students 60 years ago had more self-interest in protesting, with friends dying overseas and a draft in effect.
    Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 13 May 2024
  • That’s out of self-interest: Any hint of the organism’s presence can shut down a state’s shellfish economy.
    Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 6 Sep. 2023
  • First, beware the power of self-interest in those calling for greater links between the U.S. military and tech sector.
    David Meyer, Fortune, 26 July 2023
  • Perhaps the moves are also a signal that self-interest extends beyond the business case.
    WIRED, 23 June 2023
  • Yet people do worry openly when the war affects their self-interests.
    Peter Pomerantsev, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2024
  • With her lion mane and second-skin catsuit, Jayne, who tries hard to affect pitiless self-interest on the series, seemed smaller, near to sweet.
    Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023
  • The public choice problem refers to the concern that government officials may act in their own self-interest instead of the public's.
    James Broughel, Forbes, 4 May 2023
  • But Tingle said focusing on longevity is not just a matter of self-interest.
    Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Sep. 2023
  • The need of the US and its allies to preserve access to energy led them to strike a compromise in balancing punitive moves with their own self-interest.
    Azure Gilman, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2023
  • But the group also claimed Head, who was removed from the board by other members last year, was organizing the petition out of self-interest.
    Jason Beeferman, Dallas News, 21 Aug. 2023
  • One need only consider how aid to Ukraine has been derailed by all kinds of self-interest politics in recent months.
    Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2024
  • There is beauty in surrendering to new rhythms in a new season of life, to choosing self-preservation over self-interest.
    Carola Lovering, Vogue, 5 Feb. 2024
  • Deploying a weapon in space would be against Russia’s own self-interest, experts argue.
    Georgina Torbet, The Verge, 19 Mar. 2024
  • But self-interest and the greater good often end up in tension, which is where the Democratic nominee for president now finds himself.
    Washington Post, 5 July 2024
  • But some critics will make arguments purely out of self-interest.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 6 Nov. 2023
  • Doubters accuse its champions of self-interest or even self-delusion.
    Max Bearak Giacomo D’orlando, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2023
  • Elba’s Sam, whose choice of career suggests a ruthless pursuit of self-interest, is upfront with the hijackers.
    Time, 12 July 2023
  • Criminal defendants have a penchant for speaking more freely in later life, even if that could be against their legal self-interest, Pitaro said.
    Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023
  • His every word, action and decision between now and Election Day has to assuage their concerns and give them permission to vote in their self-interest.
    Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
  • And so many of them have embraced a candidate who has called for global restraint, retrenchment, and narrow self-interest: Donald Trump.
    Andrew Byers, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2024
  • The only people who favor the projects are often the developers themselves, who obviously act from self-interest and thus don’t have the same weight as the opponents.
    Joshua Stein, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-interest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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