as in generosity
feelings and behavior that show a desire to help other people and a lack of selfishness
charitable acts motivated purely by altruism In one final act of altruism, she donated almost all of her money to the hospital.
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Recent Examples of altruism
The evening featured a panel on preventative care moderated by TIME executive editor Nikhil Kumar and ended with a round of toasts from three honorees, who spoke about the importance of long-term funding for health, reinterpreting the story around aging, and altruism to help those in medical need.
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Charlotte Hu, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Feeding people is more than simple altruism.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 13 Feb. 2026
Bankman-Fried was later imprisoned for fraud, and Anthropic’s leadership began to pretend that effective altruism did not exist.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The initiative was funded by an anonymous donor inspired by Pope Leo’s dedication to altruism.
—Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for altruism
Charlotte Hu, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Feeding people is more than simple altruism.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 13 Feb. 2026
Bankman-Fried was later imprisoned for fraud, and Anthropic’s leadership began to pretend that effective altruism did not exist.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The initiative was funded by an anonymous donor inspired by Pope Leo’s dedication to altruism.
—Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for altruism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for altruism
Noun
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Some respondents urged generosity regardless of the service model.—
Ryan Brennan
March 12,
Kansas City Star,
12 Mar. 2026
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Some respondents framed it as a moral question, arguing generosity should be the default regardless of service level.—
Ryan Brennan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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And a charity was giving his family a tray of rice with a few pieces of chicken to break their Ramadan fast each evening.—
Steve Hendrix,
Washington Post,
11 Mar. 2026
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According to the contracts for such deals, all the revenue is supposed to go to the charities, while the volunteers and leaders of the nonprofits are not supposed to be paid.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The spirit of continuing forward has long underpinned our approach to life—in business, in philanthropy and most importantly, as a family.—
Catherine Odom,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
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Mackenzie Scott’s philanthropy isn’t news in and of itself these days.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Altruism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/altruism. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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