Definition of self-interestnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of self-interest Yet, in The Radiance, the students receive the lion’s share of the scrutiny while their teachers’ vanity and self-interest pass as disillusionment. — Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026 In the end, a state's self-interest is usually best served by its abiding by international standards. — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 28 Sep. 2026 Roosevelt is arguably the more useful example, precisely because of his hesitation, pragmatism, and self-interest. — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 Because the group of women who still vote against their own self-interest are white married women. — Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for self-interest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-interest
Noun
  • But Vicki’s insufferable attitude is nothing compared to Lisa’s selfishness by the end of the episode.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Timidity dissolves into might, selfishness gives place to broad-reaching love, incompetence is replaced with obedience to God’s perfect direction.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Rather than through a cold call or email, the scammers lure them through websites offering self-publishing or vanity publishing.
    — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026
  • And the angelic youth Dorian Gray’s deadly descent into vanity and vice—ignited by a hubristic obsession with his own image—eerily foreshadows the grim trajectory of Wilde’s later years.
    — Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • For Weinberg, learning from those failures requires putting ego aside and taking an honest look at what went wrong—and what worked.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • His ego is in exact inverse proportion to Ilya’s, which is part of what makes Garfield and Borisov play so beautifully off each other.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Kikuko sometimes mistook Shigejiro’s cheerfulness for egoism owing to the distortions produced by her illness.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There was too much egoism politically for each country to be all together with a unique economy, language and president.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Self-interest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-interest. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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