selfish
pronunciation
How to pronounce selfish in British English:
UK [ˈselfɪʃ]
How to pronounce selfish in American English:
US [ˈselfɪʃ]
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- Adjective:
- concerned chiefly or only with yourself
Word Origin
- selfish (adj.)
- 1630s, from self- + -ish. Said in Hacket's life of Archbishop Williams (1693) to have been coined by Presbyterians. In the 17c., synonyms included self-seeking (1620s), self-ended and self-ful.Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs. [Richard Dawkins, "The Selfish Gene," 1976] Related: Selfishly; selfishness. Similar formations in German selbstisch, Swedish sjelfvisk, Danish selvisk.
Synonym
Example
- 1. Possibly in previous eras , bosses were less selfish .
- 2. So , rather than being selfish , such activity is actually the least selfish thing you could do !
- 3. Only recently the japanese people and the government were seen as indecisive and selfish , muddled with complaints and bickering .
- 4. It 's selfish of you to even try .
- 5. Each has described the other as selfish .