Synonyms of altruism

altruism

noun

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.

Related Words

• generosity
• charity
• philanthropy
• kindness
• magnanimity
• nobility
• humanitarianism
• selflessness
• leniency
• empathy
• mercy
• forbearance
• clemency
• unselfishness
• sympathy
• mercifulness
• understanding
• pity
• compassion
• lenience
• benevolence
• lenity
• goodwill
• goodness
• quarter
• grace
• gentleness
• tenderness
• meekness
• civility
• softness
• kindliness
• devotion
• humaneness
• worship
• favor
• affection
• niceness
• love
• mildness
• commiseration
• care

Dissimilar Words

• selfishness
• greed
• ruthlessness
• revenge
• vengeance
• retaliation
• retribution
• cruelty
• violence
• virulence
• punishment
• vindictiveness
• sadism
• hatred
• brutality
• savagery
• reprisal
• venom
• discipline
• mercilessness
• uncharitableness
• barbarity
• spite
• viciousness
• pitilessness
• vitriol
• malice
• incivility
• requital
• truculence
• atrocity
• hate
• hard-heartedness
• jealousy
• hostility
• savageness
• wantonness
• antagonism
• malevolence
• meanness
• loathing
• abhorrence
• malignancy
• scolding
• animosity
• resentment
• spleen
• enmity
• maliciousness
• castigation
• antipathy
• abomination
• chastisement
• malignity
• detestation
• ill will
• bitterness
• bile
• nastiness
• grudge
• execration
• pique
• jaundice
• gall
• rancor
• spitefulness
• hardness
• roughness
• harshness
• coarseness
• cattiness
• invidiousness
• hatefulness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of altruism

But any thoughts of altruism fly out the window when, as happened this month, those doughnuts come from The Donuttery in Huntington Beach. — Carolyn Burt, Oc Register, 31 Aug. 2026

Patel viewed it more as a high-stakes litmus test of his wealthy audience’s altruism. — Anna Tong, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026

Carol is alternately enchanted and frustrated by her husband’s innocence and altruism, which led him to his not particularly remunerative career as an interpreter. — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 July 2026

But perhaps this multibillion-dollar industry has become too reliant on doctors’ altruism, Swarup posits. — Tara Bannow, STAT, 13 July 2026

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