selfish

Meaning

1. Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making.
2. Having regard for one's own well-being above that of others.
3. Of video game characters: relying on their own actions and capabilities to be effective in the game, rather than on other characters.
4. Related to or equivalent to a selfish gene; best understood as existing to preserve and replicate itself in competition with other entities at the same level of existence, rather than at the level of the individual or population containing it.

Synonyms

greedy

self-centered

egoistic

egocentric

grasping

avaricious

egotistic

egoistical

self-interested

egotistical

stingy

rapacious

voracious

self-seeking

self-centred

gluttonous

piggish

covetous

egoist

niggardly

arbitrary

parsimonious

wicked

penurious

fraudulent

jealous

self-willed

cruel

glutton

one-sided

haughty

proud

deceitful

mean

reckless

roughshod

rude

self

self-important

self-indulgent

selfishness

self-love

self-serving

sordid

special

stubborn

tyrannical

unconcerned

unfriendly

unkind

unpropitious

unrestrained

unsympathetic

usurp

vain

wild

wilful

willful

not fair

self-absorbed

one’s own way

without consulting anybody

asking too much

be self-centered

self-involved

be egocentric

sel-seeking

acquisitive

idiocentric

ambitious

apart

biased

black-hearted

cheat

corrupt

dishonest

disobedient

ego

egotist

evil

forbidden

hoard

inconsiderate

individualistic

insatiable

interested

leaning

limited

mercenary

merciless

miserly

narrow

narrow-minded

opportunistic

overbearing

partial

particular

peculiar

perverse

pitiless

prejudiced

rebellious

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/

Etymology

Cognate with Danish: selvisk

Cognate with Swedish: självisk

In summary

From self + -ish. Compare Danish selvisk (“selfish”), Swedish självisk (“selfish”).