as in egocentric
overly concerned with one's own desires, needs, or interests
a selfish desire to succeed at the expense of others
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 selfish
Expecting others to adapt to us is a selfish gesture that distorts the spirit of travel.
—
Wilson Santiago Burgos, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025
The Mastermind isn’t a heist movie so much as a character study that dismantles the criminal himself, one selfish act at a time.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025
Thinking for yourself is ruinously selfish.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
How selfish of Fred Warner, goodness gracious.
—Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for selfish
Wilson Santiago Burgos, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025
The Mastermind isn’t a heist movie so much as a character study that dismantles the criminal himself, one selfish act at a time.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025
Thinking for yourself is ruinously selfish.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
How selfish of Fred Warner, goodness gracious.
—Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for selfish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selfish
Adjective
-
As a chef’s kiss, Manning plays for Texas, a yearslong egocentric underachiever that plenty of college football fans love to hate.—
Blake Toppmeyer,
USA TODAY,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The community organizer turned president turned socialite has never been great at hiding his egocentric ways.—
Grace Curley,
Boston Herald,
21 July 2025
Adjective
-
Helm is nothing if not solipsistic, narcissistic even.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Norma is contrasted by her narcissistic, foulmouthed, crash-and-burn sister, Wanda, who has chosen Norma’s house as a rendezvous point with an old boyfriend … against Norma’s wishes, and for very underhanded reasons.—
Duante Beddingfield,
Freep.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Our hero can be remarkably obnoxious and self-centered.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Jay is a little more self-centered.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Anyone who subscribes to that, as far as I’m concerned, was always self-absorbed and had no interest in the common good anyway.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
-
For the moment at least, no one can accuse me of being self-absorbed and neglectful, either.—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
The man started saying that Sliwa was being egotistical.—
Naaman Zhou,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
This is a tense and volatile arena, and these are some proud and egotistical people.—
Jason Quick,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Helm is nothing if not solipsistic, narcissistic even.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
As with the works of that solipsistic filmmaker, plot is not a major element of Situations, the title of which proves accurate.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Redford said recent signs of a resurgence in student activism are welcome change over the 1980s, when many were self-involved and primarily concerned about making money.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The men at the film’s center — Paul and Carey — are hysterical and self-involved.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Selfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/selfish. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share