This article is going to discuss the word, selfish.
This word has a powerful feeling and meaning attached to it. In fact calling someone selfish, whether right or wrong, is considered to be very insulting.
Learn what this word means and be sure to use it correctly so that there are no misunderstandings and you don’t accidentally insult someone.
Selfish means that a person only thinks about him or herself above all others.
In English we have a few synonyms to help us describe this trait, some are softer in feeling, while others are just as strong.
Synonyms for Selfish:
Ego
Egomaniac
- I can’t believe what an egomaniac Chris is!
Egotistic
- Katie is so egotistic, she only ever talks about herself, all the time!
Egoistic
- I think Harvey is very egoistic, he only does things for himself.
Egocentric
These words all begin with ego, which is a noun used to describe what each person thinks of him or herself.
By adding the various suffixes like maniac or centric, we understand these words to mean an individual who thinks very highly of him or herself. Their thoughts are centered on themselves and not others.
Self
Self-centered
- Jane is a very self-centered person.
Self-interested
- Kyle is self-interested, he never asks about anyone else.
Self-seeking
- Do you think that Linda is self-seeking? She only calls when she wants something.
Self-sparing
- Frank is very self-sparing, he doesn’t do anything for anyone else unless it is of benefit to him.
Self-absorbed
- Tom is so self-absorbed, he hasn’t even noticed we were all crying.
These words all begin with self, similar to ego, self is also a noun used to describe a person’s being different and unique to anyone else.
Again, the pairing of self with words like centered and interested help us to understand how the person sees him or herself compared to others.
More Synonyms for Selfish
Narcissistic
- Jessica is obsessed with her looks, she has some narcissistic tendencies I think.
Out-for-number-one
- Adam is only-out-for-number-one he doesn’t care about anyone else.
Conceited
- Craig is so conceited, did you hear how he only spoke about everything he had done?
Vain
- I can’t believe how vain Tina is! I complimented her new hair style, and then I had to listen to her complain for the next hour about how the hairstylist didn’t do it the right way the first time round.
No matter what synonym is used, being selfish is not considered a desirable trait to have.
Telling someone that they are acting selfishly, either directly, or indirectly with a synonym, is not likely to produce a happy reply from the person, although it may be necessary to help them correct their unacceptable behavior.
If you ever have to tell someone that they are acting selfishly, a synonym may be useful to soften the blow.
Can you think of another synonym for selfish? What is it? Write a comment below to let us know! Remember to check out our other articles on the website too!
More for you:
Synonyms dictionary
English Vocabulary Dictionary
