(n.) The quality or state of being selfish; exclusive regard to one's own interest or happiness; that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his purposes to the advancement of his own interest, power, or happiness, without regarding those of others.
Example Sentences:
(1) A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed the effects of Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect on evoking upset in spouses through condescension (e.g., treating spouse as stupid or inferior), possessiveness (demanding too much time and attention), abuse (slapping spouse), unfaithfulness (having sex with others), inconsiderateness (leaving toilet seat up), moodiness (crying a lot), alcohol abuse (drinking too much alcohol), emotional constriction (hiding emotions to act tough), and self-centeredness (acting selfishly).
(2) They have been selfish, thinking of what they can achieve with gas.
(3) For a while yesterday, Hazel Blears's selfishly-timed resignation with her rude "rock the boat" brooch send shudders of revulsion through some in the party.
(4) A second level of concerted evolution occurs within the functional L1 sequences in a pattern that did not meet our expectations for selfish DNA.
(5) Not only did it make every grocery-store run a guilt trip; it made me feel selfish for caring more about birds in the present than about people in the future.
(6) Back in 1999 Chris Sidoti, then-head of the Australian Human Rights Commission, called the baby boomers “the most selfish generation in history”.
(7) It said Clinton's "cheap shots" had a hidden agenda to discredit China's engagement with Africa and "drive a wedge between China and Africa for the US selfish gain."
(8) We propose that REP sequences may be a prokaryotic equivalent of 'selfish DNA' and that gene conversion may play a role in the evolution and maintenance of REP sequences.
(9) Although angry when talking about the regime, his campaign grew from selfish motives.
(10) After The Arbor's success, said Barnard, the women who would become The Selfish Giant's executive producers, Lizzie Francke at the BFI and Katherine Butler from Film4, "were fantastic about saying, 'What do you want to do next?
(11) None of them is British, though there is great anticipation about The Selfish Giant, Clio Barnard's second feature, which premieres in the Directors' Fortnight .
(12) Further, it is selfish to suggest that Americans should feel some sort of responsibility for their fellow citizens.
(13) In an ideal world, such findings might be interpreted as smart women making smart choices, but instead it seems that this research is just adding fuel to the argument that women who don't have children, regardless of the reason, are not just selfish losers but dumb ones as well.
(14) Denial is absurdly selfish (and yet the best selfishness is yet to come).
(15) Jeremy Clarkson faced further censure on Saturday after describing people who killed themselves by jumping under trains as "selfish".
(16) A world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations.
(17) In fact, Wilson's arguments are more fundamental and persuasive than Snow's; works on evolution, like Sociobiology and Dawkins's The Selfish Gene, have been absorbed into western cultural life as neatly as any neo-Darwinist could have predicted.
(18) Sometimes the athletes are so selfish they won't give up their own stuff to help others."
(19) Her newspaper profiles over the years are peppered with self-deprecating references to her sporting ruthlessness: her constant mentions of her selfishness and egotism; her win-at-all-costs, only-gold-medals-matter mentality; or the time she flung her helmet at her boyfriend in frustration after losing a race.
(20) This has been encouraged by the press' standard strike narrative: these selfish bastards are striking, this is bad, and it will affect you in this awful unacceptable way of maybe making you slightly late for work.
Selflessness
Definition:
(n.) Quality or state of being selfless.
Example Sentences:
(1) And we owe [Hickox] better than that and all the people who do this work better than that.” The White House indicated that it was urgently reviewing the federal guidelines for returning healthcare workers, “recognising that these medical professionals’ selfless efforts to fight this disease on the front lines will be critical to bringing this epidemic under control, the only way to eliminate the risk of additional cases here at home”.
(2) For now, Shimizu will not allow the children in her care to be interviewed and brushes off praise for her selflessness.
(3) It was a difficult decision because he has been continuously supportive of the direction that we have wanted to take the club, and he has worked tirelessly and selflessly for Inter, with both belief and passion.
(4) Ted Cruz reaches the dramatic climax of his pitch to voters with a flourish that is as subtle as it is selfless.
(5) SDLP councillor John Boyle said: "This selfless heroine put the lives of her passengers and people living around ahead of herself."
(6) But even more than this bravura dramatic writing, the story of Dr Rieux's selfless struggle with the illness, and the different responses of other citizens, colleagues and chance acquaintances, unfolds an urgent allegory of war.
(7) Announcing his death, his mother Jane said: "My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son."
(8) I have never met or spoken with him, and it’s rare in this life to find such a selfless benefactor.
(9) In contrast, Duncan has been praised as the paragon of selfless basketball, sacrificing his numbers for the good of the team.
(10) Usually I send Cousin off on her own, but as it was her birthday, I selflessly went with her and our friend Olga.
(11) Aitken spoke of the army's "core values": selfless commitment, courage, discipline, integrity, loyalty and respect for others.
(12) Announcing Stephen's death, his mother wrote that "her heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son", and that the "ongoing support and outpouring of love for Stephen will help greatly at this difficult time, in the same way as it helped Stephen throughout his journey".
(13) These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America's Armed Forces.
(14) • Read Kevin McCarra's match report • Read Scott Murray's minute-by-minute report • Paul Hayward: Barça live the dream and nod off • David Pleat: Walcott's introduction turned the tide • Richard Williams: Fábregas was selfless to a fault "I am not good," he said.
(15) Four necessary constituents of a caring experience among nursing students emerged: Authentic presencing, selfless sharing, fortifying support, and enriching effects.
(16) The transformation is gynaecological, but the expectations are similar – she is selfless, she is a saint.
(17) Certainly, Duncan's selflessness has been on full display throughout these Finals, in which he has mostly been in the background while some of his less celebrated team-mates have shone.
(18) The MEK leadership moved swiftly to distance itself from Saddam Hussein, emphasising its opposition to the Islamic government in Tehran and casting its supporters as selfless and long suffering supporters of freedom and democracy.
(19) He never returned to politics, but on his death in 2006 was widely saluted for his selfless contribution to society.
(20) "They get our derision when they deserve our compassion and a political selflessness we've been unable to muster," it said.