unselfish

1 of 2

adjective

un·​self·​ish ˌən-ˈsel-fish 

: not selfish : generous

unselfishly adverb

unselfishness noun

unselfishness

2 of 2

noun

un·​selfishness

"+

: the quality or state of being unselfish

Synonyms of unselfish

Adjective

• generous
• charitable

Examples of unselfish in a Sentence

Adjective

She's a very unselfish young woman.

an unselfish man who spends much of his time helping his community

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

And even with an unselfish roster, what does the offensive hierarchy look like? — Tony Jones, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Bellingham struck the post and again went close in the second half, before Güler competed the scoring thanks to unselfish play from Vinícius Júnior. — ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026

The guys are unselfish and love each other, care about each other. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026

But the actual healer of sorrow and wrong will always be divine Love, understood and expressed through our unselfish desire to help others. — Margaret Rogers, Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1698, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unselfish

• selfish

Kids Definition

unselfish

adjective

un·​self·​ish ˌən-ˈsel-fish 

ˈən-

: not selfish : generous

unselfishly adverb

unselfishness noun