selflessness

noun

as in generosity
a tendency to regard the well-being of others as more important than one's own well-being She was widely admired for her selflessness and dedication to the cause.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 selflessness Official liberalism had long been almost inextricably identified with a picture of man as perfectible, as endowed with sufficient wisdom and selflessness to endure power and to use it infallibly for the general good. — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026 Her leadership, selflessness and competitiveness fit in with the culture being crafted in the Bay. — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 2 July 2026 These firefighters embodied the courage, professionalism and selflessness that define the wildland fire service. — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 29 June 2026 These firefighters embodied the courage, professionalism, and selflessness that define the wildland fire service. — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 29 June 2026 In Venezuela, this spirit of selflessness and volunteerism can help rebuild community and physical structures. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2026 Both required enormous amounts of selflessness, stamina, plasticity, courage, and improvisation. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 We're taught that love is mostly a matter of selflessness, and that the best partners are the ones who give the most, defer the most and ask for the least. — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026 There has been an outpouring of support on social media for those who stopped to help, heralding their bravery and selflessness. — ABC News, 18 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for selflessness
  1. generosity
  2. kindness
  3. philanthropy
  4. unselfishness
  5. altruism
Noun
  • Effective recovery depends not only on the generosity of the donations, but also on strategic approaches that can get the type of aid needed to the people who need it.
    — Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, The Conversation, 13 July 2026
  • In all of these cases, the effect is largely the same—forging intimacy through some level of generosity or gallantry, coupled with pure, physical proximity—and in 2026, all of them are still technically possible.
    — Sara Delgado, Vogue, 9 July 2026
Definition of generosity
Noun
  • Friends and colleagues contrasted her pugnacious political statements with her personal kindness and good humor.
    — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • Acts of kindness are few and far between in the punishing Myanmar textile factory where young San Kyi (Nandar Myat Aung) makes a meager living, hunched over a sewing machine.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 July 2026
Definition of kindness
Noun
  • The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation bestows the Pioneer of the Year Award upon esteemed members in the motion picture industry in recognition of leadership, service to the community and commitment to philanthropy.
    — Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026
  • Then there’s Melinda French Gates, who stepped away from the Gates Foundation to create her own philanthropy, Pivotal Ventures, which has pledged $2 billion to women and families since 2019.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 14 July 2026
Definition of philanthropy
Noun
  • Lendeborg’s passing ability and unselfishness will also endear him to Steve Kerr, while his ability to cover ground in transition and run the court should fit well.
    — Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • More than any of them, Hart elevated unselfishness to an art form.
    — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 20 June 2026
Definition of unselfishness
Noun
  • But perhaps this multibillion-dollar industry has become too reliant on doctors’ altruism, Swarup posits.
    — Tara Bannow, STAT, 13 July 2026
  • And private companies don’t give away equity out of altruism.
    — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
Definition of altruism

Browse Nearby Words

selflessly
selflessness
self-loader
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Selflessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/selflessness. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All