self-love

noun

ˌself-ˈləv 

: love of self: such as

a

: an appreciation of one's own worth or virtue

Self-love begins when we observe our actions and words with compassion as if we were our own best friend.

—Sara M Bosworth

Just as you'd think, it's love—particular, self-love—that makes the world go around.

—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Often we are reluctant to promote self-love mostly because we confuse it with selfishness. Since we are humans, we ought to have a healthy love for ourselves; it is from this fount that love flows out to others.

—Mason Olds

b

: proper regard for and attention to one's own happiness or well-being

Nurturing your body seems simple, but for me it feels like an extreme act of self-love.

—Danielle d'Entremont

Lisa Concepcion, a certified professional love life coach and founder of LoveQuest Coaching, says that journaling is an excellent way to practice self-love.

—SheKnows

c

: inflated love of or pride in oneself : narcissism, conceit

… individuals ruled by self-love and selfishness …

—John Saillant

"Then from myself pray understand that I will say nothing to flatter your self-love."

—Anthony Trollope

… there was the self-love of those conceited blockheads who … were convinced that they themselves were superior to anything the age could produce.

—John Clive

self-loving

ˌself-ˈlə-viŋ 

adjective

Synonyms of self-love

• vanity
• ego
• pridefulness
• pride

Examples of self-love in a Sentence

nurtured a self-love that was far greater than any affection she ever felt for another person

Recent Examples on the Web

The self-love memes resonate because of their irony, says Sylvia Zhu, a 25-year-old from Beijing who now lives in Seattle. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 21 Jan. 2026

Satirical and formalist comedy, genre, a psychological thriller, a love story, a self-love story, anime, a Western… these 22 films show off just how diverse great cinema is in 2026. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 20 Jan. 2026

Iran has been trapped in a cycle of self-love and self-hate for centuries, and nothing captures that contradiction like The Blind Owl. —Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026

Though the journey to self-love is often a solo trek, a major supporter of Patrick's healing has been her husband of three years, fellow country music star Mitchell Tenpenny. —Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1539, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-love

• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• dove
• glove
• love
• of
• shove
• hereinabove