as in selfish
overly concerned with one's own desires, needs, or interests
a staggeringly self-interested careerist who is eminently indifferent to anything that does not affect his personal well-being
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Recent Examples of self-interested
The movie is happy to have Linda commit acts of brutality to preserve her place on top, but what is true equality if not allowing your anti-heroine to be in all ways just as monstrously self-interested as the men?
—
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
Some two decades after the debacle of Iraq, the subjective preferences of metropolitan journalism are more widely exposed and, as the implosion of the Washington Post illustrates, the owners of media organs are revealed to be aggressively self-interested.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Goods and services are traded for the self-interested betterment of all parties involved.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 28 Nov. 2025
These powers weren’t grabbed so much as they were pushed onto the court by a political system too polarized – and in some cases too self-interested – to act.
—Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
Public approval of Congress is near historic lows, and polling shows that many voters believe professional politicians are self-interested and out of touch.
—Jeff Harden, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
Some two decades after the debacle of Iraq, the subjective preferences of metropolitan journalism are more widely exposed and, as the implosion of the Washington Post illustrates, the owners of media organs are revealed to be aggressively self-interested.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Goods and services are traded for the self-interested betterment of all parties involved.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 28 Nov. 2025
These powers weren’t grabbed so much as they were pushed onto the court by a political system too polarized – and in some cases too self-interested – to act.
—Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
Public approval of Congress is near historic lows, and polling shows that many voters believe professional politicians are self-interested and out of touch.
—Jeff Harden, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-interested
selfish
Adjective
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While she and his working mom (Sarah Snook) are initially seen as culprits, the boy’s selfish father (Jake Lacy, who played similar roles in the dire Moriarty adaptation Apples Never Fall and The White Lotus) turns out to be the guiltiest party of all.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
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Guys are being selfish, trying to look for their own shots instead of looking for the right shot for the team.—
Tim Reynolds,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-interested.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-interested. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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