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
One is shy, good, and bright but because of the pigmentation of her green skin she’s considered other, an outsider, while the girl with the wavy blonde tresses that match her complexion is frivolous, selfish, yet to discover her inner glow.
—
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 1 Jan. 2025
Hill went rogue and selfish, again, by cryptically hinting a coach pulled him out of the game due to his left wrist injury.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2025
But Abbott, about well-meaning teachers and the kids in their charge, is aimed at families, while Sunny is an adults-only show about some of the most selfish and despicable characters in sitcom history.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2025
But while his months of legal delaying actions enabled Trump to prevent the government from holding him legally responsible for his acts, Trump cannot escape moral responsibility for what may have been history’s singularly most selfish effort to flout the rules of American democracy.
—Carl Leubsdorf, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for selfish 
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 1 Jan. 2025
Hill went rogue and selfish, again, by cryptically hinting a coach pulled him out of the game due to his left wrist injury.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2025
But Abbott, about well-meaning teachers and the kids in their charge, is aimed at families, while Sunny is an adults-only show about some of the most selfish and despicable characters in sitcom history.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2025
But while his months of legal delaying actions enabled Trump to prevent the government from holding him legally responsible for his acts, Trump cannot escape moral responsibility for what may have been history’s singularly most selfish effort to flout the rules of American democracy.
—Carl Leubsdorf, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for selfish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selfish
Adjective
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This was my chance to not be an actor, not have that stink of being an actor, that egotistical, show-off, controlling, making choices, being clever part of being an actor.—
Chris Vognar,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Dec. 2024
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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
Adjective
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Once Leo Season begins on the 22nd, and Chiron begins its retrograde in Aries on the 26th, our mission will be to cultivate a healthy relationship with our own self-esteem without veering into narcissistic or egocentric tendencies.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
refinery29.com,
29 June 2024
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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
Adjective
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The tale of a narcissistic corporate executive (Dern) whose nervous breakdown yields a convenient spiritual awakening, the show positions its protagonist in the morally fraught role of a whistle-blower doing the right thing for selfish reasons.—
Charlie Campbell,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
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The sheriff speculated Litton had a narcissistic personality, shown by him self-appointing himself as a military leader in the nonexistent national group.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacramento Bee,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Sitting on the sidelines and labeling someone else as self-centered is easy.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes,
16 Jan. 2025
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The Herod book doesn’t make her attitude about segregation less myopic and self-centered.—
Louis Menand,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
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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The dissolution of the Family is seen as a sad, painfully slow affair, as, like Brian Wilson before him, Stone drifted off into his own solipsistic world of experimentation.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
24 Jan. 2025
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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
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 30 Jan. 2025.
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