selfish

adjective

self·ish | \ˈsel-fish

Definition of selfish

1 : concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others

2 : arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others a selfish act

3 : being an actively replicating repetitive sequence of nucleic acid that serves no known function selfish DNA also : being genetic material solely concerned with its own replication selfish genes

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Examples of selfish in a Sentence

She's interested only in her own selfish concerns. I wish he'd spend less time with his friends and more time with me. Am I being selfish?

Recent Examples on the Web

The Franzen Fence is selfish, privileged, and maybe impractical, but if used correctly, can theoretically produce Good Work for all to enjoy. — Emilia Petrarca, The Cut, "What Paris Couture and Jonathan Franzen Have in Common," 6 July 2018 USA TODAY Sports MOSCOW — Cristiano Ronaldo is selfish, arrogant, attention-hungry and in love with himself. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "This World Cup makes it official: Cristiano Ronaldo is greater than Lionel Messi," 22 June 2018 Self-care can seem indulgent, even selfish, in the face of destruction. — Alexandra Pattillo, CNN, "Too much bad news can make you sick," 1 June 2018 At a time when women, especially, were required to think about everyone else before themselves, (Ward) was selfish, but wonderfully so. — Darcel Rockett, chicagotribune.com, "Nevertheless, princesses persisted: Author examines the power of the crown," 17 May 2018 The mutations the RNAs pick up are selfish, in that they get copied more efficiently than the starting RNAs. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "New system shows the earliest life could cooperate despite “cheaters”," 3 Sep. 2018 Once again Cadillac has its own DOHC V8, and GM says only Cadillac will get to use it—a weirdly selfish and wonderful throwback to the old days. — Matthew Jancer, Popular Mechanics, "Why GM Finally Let Cadillac Build an All-New Twin-Turbo V8," 28 Aug. 2018 But, like Xavier, there are plenty of upperclassmen who enjoy playing together and aren’t selfish. — Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati.com, "Paul Daugherty on UC Bearcats: Good and getting better as NCAA March Madness looms," 1 Feb. 2018 United's reason for keeping Martial is a rather selfish one. — SI.com, "Tottenham Fans React as New Report Provides Update on Anthony Martial's Man Utd Future," 2 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'selfish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

6 Dec 2018

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Time Traveler for selfish

The first known use of selfish was in 1628

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More Definitions for selfish

selfish

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of selfish

: having or showing concern only for yourself and not for the needs or feelings of other people

See the full definition for selfish in the English Language Learners Dictionary

selfish

adjective

self·ish | \ˈsel-fish

Kids Definition of selfish

: taking care of only your own needs and feelings without thought for others

selfish

adjective

self·ish | \ˈsel-fish

Medical Definition of selfish

: being an actively replicating repetitive sequence of nucleic acid that serves no known function selfish DNA also : being genetic material solely concerned with its own replication selfish genes