noun · neutral
selfishness
/ˈsɛlfɪʃnəs/SELF·ish·ness
the quality of caring only about yourself and not about other people
Examples
“Excessive selfishness in consumption harms the environment.”
“Children learn to reduce selfishness through sharing activities.”
“Selfishness among team members can undermine collaboration.”
Band 8 sentence
“Long-term social cohesion depends on policies that discourage selfishness and encourage collective responsibility.”
Collocations
- excessive selfishness
- combat selfishness
- accused of selfishness
Word family
Common mistakes
His selfishness make problems for the group.→His selfishness makes problems for the group.
They accused him for selfishness.→They accused him of selfishness.
Say it for a higher band
5selfish→6egoism→7+selfishness
Synonyms
egotism
self-centredness
Easily confused
selflessness
“Volunteers demonstrated selflessness, while critics accused the corporation of selfishness.”
self-centred
“Her self-centred attitude showed that selfishness was a problem in the team.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ness
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