self-interest

Noun

Meaning

Private interest; the interest or advantage of one's self.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Alternative names

self interest

Synonyms

egoism expedience self-seeking egocentrism opportunism self-centeredness self-concern interest meanness greed individualism self-esteem selfishness egotism narrowness
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Antonyms

generosity altruism public interest mutually beneficial community of interests inner beauty
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Hypernyms

selfishness trait

Related terms

self-interested self-interestedness

Examples

We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics. Franklin D. Roosevelt

The punters know that the horse named Morality rarely gets past the post, whereas the nag named Self-interest always runs a good race. Gough Whitlam

Altruism is masked self-interest. Aggressive self-interest is a masked urge to self-destruction. Greg Bear

Will springs from the two elements of moral sense and self-interest. Abraham Lincoln

There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth. Chanakya

I'm backing David Cameron's campaign out of pure, cynical self-interest. Boris Johnson

Close letter words and terms

self-insurance self-insure self-intensifier self-interested self-interestedly self-interestedness