selfish meaning

selfish means 'caring only about oneself and not others'.

selfish :

caring only for oneself

adjective

▪ He is selfish with his toys.

▪ He only cares about himself with his toys.

▪ She made a selfish decision.

▪ She made a decision only for herself.

paraphrasing

▪ egocentric – self-centered

▪ self-centered – focused on oneself

▪ self-serving – serving oneself

▪ self-absorbed – absorbed in oneself

selfish

Pronunciation

selfish [ˈsɛl.fɪʃ]

The stress is on 'self' and sounds like 'sel-fish'.

Common phrases and grammar about selfish

selfish - Common meaning

adjective
caring only for oneself

Part of Speech Changes for "selfish"

▪ selfishness (noun) – the quality of being selfish

▪ unselfish (adjective) – not selfish

Common Expressions with "selfish"

▪ selfish behavior – actions that show selfishness

▪ selfish reasons – reasons that are only for oneself

▪ selfish act – an act that benefits only oneself

▪ selfish attitude – an attitude of caring only for oneself

Important examples of selfish in TOEIC

Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC vocabulary questions, selfish is often used to describe actions or decisions that are self-centered.

▪His selfish actions upset his friends.
▪His actions that only cared for himself upset his friends.

Example of a confusing word: selfless (putting others' needs first)

▪His selfless actions upset his friends.
▪His actions that put others first upset his friends.
"Selfish" is an adjective describing someone who prioritizes their own needs over others, often negatively affecting relationships. In the sentence "His selfish actions upset his friends," the word "selfish" is correctly used to indicate that his actions were self-centered. "Selfless," however, means the opposite: putting others' needs before one's own. Using "selfless" in this context would be contradictory, as selfless actions are generally seen as positive and unlikely to upset friends. Thus, "selfish" is the appropriate choice here.

Grammar examples from the TOEIC test

Selfish is used as an adjective, often modifying nouns like 'behavior' or 'decision' in TOEIC questions.

▪Her selfish decision affected the team.
▪Her decision that only cared for herself affected the team.

selfish

Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC

selfish motives

'reasons for actions that are self-centered', used in discussions about intentions.

▪His selfish motives were clear.
▪His reasons for actions that were self-centered were clear.

think only of oneself

means 'to care only about one's own needs or desires'.

▪He tends to think only of himself.
▪He tends to care only about his own needs.

Differences between similar words and selfish

selfish

,

egocentric

differences

Selfish means caring only for oneself, while egocentric means seeing everything from one's own perspective.

selfish
▪She is selfish with her time.
▪She only cares about herself with her time.
egocentric
▪He is egocentric and thinks the world revolves around him.
▪He sees everything from his own perspective.
selfish

Words with the same origin as selfish

The origin of selfish

The word's etymology is not clear.

Word structure

The analysis of the word's composition is unclear.

Words with the same origin

The word's root is unclear or difficult to confirm.

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