How To Use Selfish In A Sentence

When I do get in a lather, it's never my fault: it's the cyclists and pedestrians who are selfish and inconsiderate, not me.
I just hadn't realised that so many straight men could be so selfish and unloving towards their offspring.
In addition to receiving the best education that the South could offer blacks at that time, Ella inherited a powerful sense of service that made her civil rights efforts extraordinarily unselfish and untiring.
You can be morally unimpeachable for entirely selfish reasons. Times, Sunday Times
Theirs is a consummately selfish act, no less than a low-life betrayal of civilization.

Linguix Browser extension

Fix your writing
on millions of websites

Get Started
For Free Watch how it works

Machiavelli was a chief target of the philoso - phes because he preached an amoralistic selfishness which promoted despotic arbitrariness. MACHIAVELLISM
As you know, Bubba, I have no way to ever repay you for your unselfish gift of life you so eagerly gave to me. All I can offer to you is my undying love, my respect, my gratitude and my humble heart.
Both acts are born of reckless selfishness and crass stupidity and both should be condemned. The Sun
Each has written compellingly on this subject, yet each has been unselfishly and unfailingly supportive as we explored terrain that they already knew well. American Grace
He is one of a platoon of French intellectuals praising the game as a noble art compared with the selfish showmanship of football. Times, Sunday Times
Those on the left side accentuate anger, hate, jealousy, and selfishness. The Bushman Way of Tracking God
It was basically a selfish act, though no doubt a sophist would argue that it was done for the general good.
What selfish purpose is served by a crass attempt to hide something that stands no chance at all of escaping notice? Times, Sunday Times
The mean selfish life builds its own prison walls and passes sentence of solitary confinement. 23 Steps to Successful Achievement
Three-spot damselfish are common members of Caribbean reef communities.
They can be very selfish where their physical comforts are concerned.
And that can make you selfish and self-centred. Times, Sunday Times
Look at how a few NGO groups last year used peaceful candlelight vigils for their own selfish purposes to galvanize public opinion.
She had an ideal of fatherhood, had gentle, silent, useless Lydia -- formed upon the genial, sunshiny type of parent popular in books, and she cast a romantic veil over disappointed, selfish, crossgrained Malcolm Martie, the Unconquered
Most people have affairs for selfish reasons. Times, Sunday Times
I have never known him to behave any other than selfishly.
There are rare instances of secret and entirely human selfishness. Times, Sunday Times
Take away the 'capi', make him rot in the reserves until he publically apologies to the club and the supporters - his selfish ego loves spreading the dirty laundry in the media, so he can eat humble pie in the same manner. Soccer Blogs - latest posts
That selfish student always appropriates the biggest bookcase and desk.
When the Americans did not give up but rather kept building more planes and tanks, the Japanese responded with massive suicidal attacks, believing that Americans, selfish and mongrelized, could not stand up to such a show of national unity and self-sacrifice. Sea of Thunder
So while selection within groups favors selfishness, those groups with many altruists do better. SuperCooperators
She just acts so selfish and cunning. The Sun
There is no shortage of choice, a good variety of butterflyfish, an unusual striped damselfish, puffers and a shoal of small barracuda.
When a man forbids his wife to marry again without losing what he leaves -- it's what I call selfishness after death. Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures
His selfishness and single-minded pursuit ‘to be someone’ has left casualties along the way.
He is such an unselfish player and gives just as much to the side. Times, Sunday Times
He is a selfish, competitive fighter who is totally calculating about how he allocates his time and resources.
Nor, of course, can individuals, families, and communities, survive if the order of the natural world or the ecosphere is destroyed, as even the most extreme adept of the cult of selfishness will soon realise.
Though he is faster to commit to Lola, he is selfish and spoiled.
It seemed a bit selfish until he told the rest of the story. Christianity Today
An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends ; he defies all sound judgment.
The whole point of a sports car is hedonism, the selfish pursuit of pleasure.
Can one be both selfish and unselfish? The Times Literary Supplement
That selfish behavior is the antithesis of what ‘good’ Christians are taught.
These humble people are frequently exploited by their selfish colleagues. Times, Sunday Times
He is right to point out that our response to national disasters is often selfishly inappropriate.
On the other hand, ‘bitter envy and selfish ambition’ does not come from above, ‘but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish’.
We shall not forget them, nor this magnificent production of a play that reminds us in our selfish age how collective responsibility and camaraderie have eroded away.
His examples from the past reveal that greed, hubris and selfishness often impeded recognition of a problem until it was too late.
The birds would no longer flute to us of lost loves, but of found worms; we should realise how terribly selfish they are; we could never more quote 'Hark, hark, the lark at heaven's gate sings,' or poetise with Mr. Patmore of 'the heavenly-minded thrush.' Prose Fancies
It was difficult to avoid the impression that he was assisting them for selfish reasons.
Were your relationships characterized by service or by selfishness? Christianity Today
Their egos and selfish acts are a disgrace. Times, Sunday Times
Their suffering is generally caused by adults: a parent has died, or run off, or otherwise acted irresponsibly, drunkenly, selfishly, dissolutely.
Actually, I can, given the stuff that dolts selfishly dump on the streets of my neighborhood.
Susan and Deborah share an intensely selfish, egotistic streak.
He is sensuous, selfish and pleasure-loving.
There's no way of spinning this as anything other than a purely selfish move, a cash grab out of naked greed.
Part of the problem lies in the nature of the call to the ministry, a call to exemplary conduct as well as unselfish service. Christianity Today
Everybody says, "When you have kids, you really get away from yourself." But really, it's the most selfish thing I've ever done. It's like, Okay, I'm going to create unconditional love for myself, and I'm going to need it and want it and ask for it every day, and I'm going to get it. Brooke Shields
He's an unselfish player and a good guy but it's my job to pick up the pieces. The Sun
On June 25, it got fussy, rebellious, selfish, ego - driven fat cat Garfield.
Other important components of the fringing reef ecosystem include algae (brown, red and green), marine invertebrates (shrimp, lobster, crabs and sea urchins) and fishes (parrotfish, wrasses, damselfish, surgeonfish, goatfish, jacks and sharks). Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
Instead, these people are just as selfish and impolite as any ordinary person, but are more convinced that they have a right to behave that way.
On the signboard outside the village hall, a mysterious announcement appeared: Let all men recognize your unselfishness, your considerateness, your forbearing spirit. A Christmas Parable By Judith Moran
What a contrast that would be from the spoiled, overpaid and selfish athletes who normally grace the covers of sports magazines.
Actually, I think those selfish grumblers should stop their complaining too because they're not the only ones who are suffering.
And some CBS people I've talked to, as you well know, have referred to you as selfish, as sleazy, as a snake in the grass, and some other things that I can't say on the air.
I want to give up my selfish ways and follow your lead, for yours is the way of goodness and holiness.
I have never known him behave other than selfishly.
Why would he be selfish enough to kill himself and leave poor Delia with this terrible burden?
Feeling rather like a whale among minnows, I found myself in the middle of schools of small green damselfish and a host of mainly yellow and blue angelfish, bannerfish and butterfly fish.
Well, it is in the nature of rats to spread disease, which they do without rancor and without a selfish thought, butit causes us toexterminate them without prejudice. Spineless Dems or a Dem-Trifecta Driven Filibuster-Proof Congress and a Media Carrot
Nor will the eternal movelessness that is coming to me be made easier or harder by the sacrifices or selfishnesses of the time when I was yeasty and acrawl. Chapter 8
If that sounds selfish then that is the lot of the long-distance runner. Times, Sunday Times
What selfish purpose is served by a crass attempt to hide something that stands no chance at all of escaping notice? Times, Sunday Times
Such laws exist only to conserve the privilege of this selfish minority.
Jayne McKenna shines as her cynical unmarried sister, Sarah MacRae as her tarty daughter and Morven Christie as her magnificently selfish daughter-in-law. 'Men Should Weep' marvels
Dorsey chose to work with the bicolor damselfish because they are not considered a threatened or endangered species.
It is a discredited value system and we, a selfish generation. Times, Sunday Times
If men are prone to mistake their selfish feelings for benevolent affections; then we may easily see wliy they so generally disbelieve the doctrine of total de - pravity, which is plainly taught in the word of God. Sermons on various important subjects of doctrine and practice
he is selfish ergo he will not offer to help
A little selfish behaviour is unlikely to cause real damage to those around us.
Why are we all so easily bullied into doing what a small number of opinionated, narrow minded and selfish people wish us to do?
Others will selfishly hog a space all day and not give fellow drivers a fair chance to park conveniently.
When trouble comes they behave selfishly and horribly.
They're not only seen as polluters, but as Bad People, as selfish and immoral individuals.
The practice of infanticide, for selfish reasons, was, as we shall see in later chapters, horribly prevalent among many of the lower races, and even where the young were tenderly reared, the feeling toward them was hardly what we call affection -- a conscious, enduring devotion -- but a sort of animal instinct which is shared by tigers and other fierce and cruel animals, and which endures but a short time. Primitive Love and Love-Stories
Then, on the third day of his visit, while the merchant is in his counting house, the wife complains that her husband is selfish, both with money and with love.
Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure. Jane Austen
His unselfish and noble virtues have earned him huge respect across all shades of political opinion.
I tried to help out, trying to not seem all that selfish and let him do the work and all, but alas, he insisted on me just sitting on my lazy bum and watch him.
I think it's just used because ‘selfish’ is the worst thing the antis can call something.
You never forget that he is giving a performance and rarely overcome the fact that he plays such a selfish, charmless character.
Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself. Kahlil Gibran
In fact, gratitude may be the smuggest of sentiments, the world's most selfish act this side of suicide. Tony Greenberg: Gratitude: The Smuggest Sentiment or the World's Second Most Selfish Act?
They have been wagered by gamblers like Donna (who won $900 at a casino in Redding, Calif.) and unselfishly given to charities.
He had tried to commiserate, assuring her she wasn't alone or useless or hateful or shallow or selfish. RIOT
But today's Republicans are a nihilistic pack who would turn against everything their predecessors believed in, in the name of selfishness and greed. Richard (RJ) Eskow: The New GOP: Anti-Kids, Anti-Jobs, Anti-Business... And Anti-Republican
Now this is what I call selfish, after all, said I to myself: you will only enjoy yourself with those whose broken peace you have mended. The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 02 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes
And the term "entitlement" resonates with that word's other meaning - selfishness and the greedy assumption that one deserves to be served by others as in "he acts so entitled. Richard (RJ) Eskow: "Entitlement Reform" Is a Euphemism For Letting Old People Get Sick and Die
For a moment he selfishly planned not to warn her.
He brought players into the game, made a lot of goals and showed what an unselfish player he is as well. Times, Sunday Times
A man is called selfish ,not pursuing his own good ,but neglecting his neighbour's.
I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best. Marilyn Monroe
An incorrigible striker of attitudes, which is all the more dangerous and at times effective, as he talks himself into believing them himself… Has no sense of morality, thoroughly selfish.
Bad manners are the outward sign of a seriously selfish individual.
The new regime has no time for the tiresome (if unselfish) business of accommodating the wishes of other festivals.
Leaders need to be manipulative and selfish at times. The Sun
In London, at a distance from all this tragedy of courage, I felt that I had slipped back to a lower plane; a kind of flabbiness was creeping into my blood -- the old selfish fear of life and love of comfort. Carry On Letters in War-Time
He walks with an awkward gait, his right leg turned out from birth, and he is sharp and selfish and snorts; a bachelor alumni of the finishing school for quiet men.
Selfish- a judgment readily passed by those who have never tested their own power of sacrifice. George Eliot
People think of us as opportunistic and selfish people who will do anything for power, and electing a leader on the basis of who will most likely return us to power is not a good way to go about changing that!
Damselfish make up almost half, with angelfish, surgeonfish, wrasses, gobies, and butterfly fish accounting for another 25 to 30 percent.
I have watched you and your crew, how you preach up selfish ambition for divine charity and call prurient longings celestial love, while you blaspheme that very marriage from whose mysteries you borrow all your cant. The Saint's Tragedy
Jack's private opinion was that she was selfish.
But killing their fellow God-created human beings in order to attain their personal salvation is a blatantly selfish and the most condemnable inhumane act, morally and theologically.
It becomes an authentic spiritual experience only if it is totally free from selfish and mercenary interests on the part of those who facilitate it.
Tradition condemned the demagogues as tyrants who manipulated public opinion for their own selfish ends.
The monks, who had been easy and indulgent landlords, were succeeded by selfish despots who introduced rack-rent for the tenants and brought them to that pitiable state of serfdom in which the nineteenth century—to the eternal shame of Protestant England! The Social Order Before and After the Protestant Reformation
The mean selfish life builds its own prison walls and passes sentence of solitary confinement. 23 Steps to Successful Achievement
The strength of altruism lies in the fact that altruistic acts undeniably occur in any society and that moral codes universally advocate altruism or benevolence and condemn selfishness.
We all pitched to buy this gift. We are all grateful to you. Without your unselfish dedication could we achieve no success today.
I know it sounds selfish of me, to just throw away our world and all the people living in it.
He had tried to commiserate, assuring her she wasn't alone or useless or hateful or shallow or selfish. RIOT
The writer categorically states that selfishness has no place in marriage.
It would be selfish to be jealous of him, and I could truthfully say I wasn't.
I'm selfish and self-centered, and I don't seem to have any control over it.
Beware of a selfish person who seeks impossibilities.
He is an amiable character when he is in the pub but he can be a very selfish man. Times, Sunday Times
His work was all-consuming, often at the expense of those he loved, and he pursued his ambitions ruthlessly and selfishly.
They made their secret voiceless worship, they did their steadfast, uninspired, unthanked, unselfish work as helpful daughters, as nurses, as faithful servants, as the humble providences of homes. In the Days of the Comet
She knew she was being selfish for accepting him, for making him pay for her folly, but she was simply not strong enough to refuse him a second time.
It is not likely that this selfish and unwarlike pedant -- a "nithing", as they probably called him -- had ever been aught but a most unwelcome necessity to the lion-hearted Ostrogoths, and for all but the families and friends of the three slain noblemen, the imprisonment and the permitted murder of his benefactress must have deepened dislike into horror. Theodoric the Goth Barbarian Champion of Civilisation
Is it selfish to seek for personal justice if it risks jeopardising the delicate work of the democratic movement?
Her characters are selfish and suspicious simpletons.
I count some of these amongst my closest friends - people whose self-sacrifice and unselfish love of truth would do credit to any man.
Some would call this coolly rational behaviour selfish, others prudent, but the one thing it is not is panic.
He was sure that hope must again rise out of unselfish love and duty. The Daisy Chain
Hundreds of tiny damselfishes dart around in shoals, finning their swift way through sunlit waters.
So many of us live in a life of delusion, of separation, of selfishness and of loneliness.
Singing or playing is doing; reading the notes is doing; studying out the composer's meaning is doing; making others feel it is doing; everything is doing; and _doing_ is true living, _provided it is unselfish_. Music Talks with Children
Many Web sites and mobile applications now help commuters, shoppers, and tourists in cities all over the world be virtuously selfish and take advantage of their transit options.
Many think of companies as amoral, profit-hungry beasts that will do anything to promote their own selfish interests.
Mr. D'Antoni said Mr. Fields is a "glue guy," the kind of unselfish and well-rounded player who holds a team together. Fields Is an A-Plus Student
And as of late he had placed such reliance in the fond love of his grandmother that his father and mother even could not exercise any extreme control over him, he had become so much the more remiss, dissolute, selfish and unconcerned, not taking the least pleasure in what was proper, that she felt convinced, whenever she entertained the idea of tendering him advice, that he would not listen to her. Hung Lou Meng
As a manifestation of petty selfishness and greed such meanness is hard to credit.
Money is not the root of all eviles as is usually claimed, what is the root of all evils is the lust for money, that is the excessive, selfish and greedy pusuit of mnoey.
Kira carried on walking, muttering angrily to herself about the absolute stupidity and selfishness of demons and mythical creatures.
My selfish desires had led me into betraying this withdrawn and deeply religious family.
As a consequence, this prevalence of mass marketing and consumerism has led to a selfish, egocentric culture where one's own apparent needs and desires come first at the exclusion of the needs of others.
However, his argument works only if the cooperative groups also had practices — such as monogamy and the sharing of food with other group members — that reduced the ability of their selfish members to outreproduce their more generous members. The Selfless Gene
And everyone - aristocrats, bohemians, and philosophers alike - denounced the bourgeoisie as selfish money-grubbers.
You should be careful of people's deeply felt grief and sense of loss before you dismiss them as selfish cynics.
He is such an unselfish player and gives just as much to the side. Times, Sunday Times
Richard Dawkins, in his book The Selfish Gene, refers to stotting and explains it as the animal's attempt at advertising its health. Joseph Minton Amann and Tom Breuer: The Real Reason McCain Picked Palin
If it does come, it would be triggered by the naked greed of a nation that is selfish and self-centred to the point of gross stupidity.
in the fact that altruistic acts undeniably occur in any society and that moral codes universally advocate altruism or benevolence and condemn selfishness.
The second tendency is for societies to erect moral codes, which often frown on behaviour encoded by our selfish genes.
What makes that egregious and selfish act more serious than just disgustingly dishonorable is that those fake awards are used to justify and back up applications for employment or appointment, for winning political office, and even claims for veteran's benefits - including government medical treatment for post-traumatic stress syndrome. Media Coverage October
On its simplest level, it traces two calamitous marriages: one between the sweet, idealistic Dorothea Brooke (Juliet Aubrey) and priggishly meanspirited Rev. Edward Casaubon (Patrick Malahide), the other pairing equally idealistic Dr. Tertius Lydgate (Douglas Hodge) with the wretchedly selfish Rosamond Vincy (Trevyn McDowell). By George, We've Got It
They must have thought I was crass, puerile and selfish.
During the communal drug culture of the 1960s, 'to bogart' meant to selfishly smoke a joint without sharing.
Be ambitious not for money, not for selfish aggrandizement, not for the evanescent thing which men call fame.
Unselfish or magnanimous lies serve as sort of social lubricant; injurious or malicious lies show the worst of human deception and cunning. Dr T.P.Chia
Nothing resembles selfishness more closely than self-respect. George Sand
The world is a zoo of thinking, ethical, selfish, greedy and hypocritical animals - men. The world is full of good and bad people, passionate and good-hearted people, mean and evil-hearted people, honest and unscrupulous people. Dr T.P.Chia
Worse, her entire output can be summed up in the three words: “selfishness is good.” wiley says: Matthew Yglesias » The Sweet Spot
Their egos and selfish acts are a disgrace. Times, Sunday Times
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offense.
Possibly, you don't give other people credit for unselfish motives; you are too suspicious; and what you call plain talk may seem impertinence to others -- don't you think? 'Firebrand' Trevison
This is, I believe, on the whole true, but it is also true that there are grave diseases which attach themselves peculiarly to the unselfish side of our nature, and they are peculiarly dangerous because men, feeling that the unselfish is the virtuous and nobler side of their being, are apt to suffer these tendencies to operate without supervision or control. The Map of Life Conduct and Character
In news stories on the Left Behind juggernaut, she has been quoted condemning the ethical implications of the beam-me-up aspect of Rapture theory, which she says invites a selfish nonconcern for the world. Philocrites: Weekend religion round-up.
Spoiled, greedy, selfish, North Americans, of which I am one, fearful of someone taking a crumb from a banquet table is what we are. Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Illegal Immigration and the Rule of Law
Then maybe we would have a chance at eradicating poverty, universal health care, protection of women’s and minority rights … as it is, the Dem “leadership” is a close second in craven corporate selfishness to the Republicans. Think Progress » You Go Into A Disaster With The FEMA You Have
Money is not the root of all eviles as is usually claimed, what is the root of all evils is the lust for money, that is the excessive, selfish and greedy pusuit of mnoey.
There are millions who never resort to violence or abuse others, who never are dishonest, selfish or greedy in their business dealings.
The advice to ‘not look back until you've passed the finish line’ was selfish and unsportsmanlike.
Sr Mary's unselfish life touched so many people in so very many ways and her passing leaves an emptiness that can never be filled.
Wingnutism is less a political position than a general attitude of selfishness and mean-spiritedness. Think Progress » McDonnell apologizes, promises to acknowledge slavery in Confederacy proclamation.
It's unreasonable to expect your child to behave in a caring way if you behave selfishly.
She went to places away from snotty cheerleaders and selfish little princesses that dominated the population of high school.
For that business man down in the sharp competition of the world where duty calls him, to resist the sly temptations to overreach, to keep keenly alert not to be overreached; and through all to preserve an uncensorious spirit, unhurt by the selfishness of the crowd -- tell me, some of you men -- _will that not take power_? Quiet Talks on Power
Your youngster may feel it is hopeless to try to be good, that he is doomed to be uncaring like the father, or selfish like the mother.
Unions that back them are selfishly using the political process to enrich themselves at others' expense.
Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness. Napoleon Hill
It is what I call selfishness, and selfishness is a most detestable thing, especially to any one of my temperament, for I am well known for my sympathetic nature. The Happy Prince and Other Tales
Don't be so selfish it's share and share alike in this house.
Selfishness is that detestable vice which no one will forgive in others, and no one is without himself. Henry Ward Beecher
For Erasmus, divine contemplation was synonymous with idleness and monkish solitude was nothing more than baneful selfishness.
There was _no_ other monitor who did not try to be of some use to his fags; many of the monitors, by quiet kindnesses and useful hints, by judicious help and unselfish sympathy, were of most real service to the boys who nominally "fagged" for them, but who, in point of fact, were required to do nothing except taking an occasional message, seeing that the study fires did not go out, and carrying up the tea and breakfast for a week each, in order of rotation. St. Winifred's, or The World of School
(whose heightened gabbiness Solondz's films evoke, plus an acid drip), many will find the film's openly addressed ethical conundrum-Can you or should you forgive a selfish sibling or a thoughtless lover, much less a pedophile? In These Times
These humble people are frequently exploited by their selfish colleagues. Times, Sunday Times
All you ‘yes’ voters are equally selfish in your determination to pass a referendum that would dissatisfy the other half of the university.
She also ushered in a very greedy and selfish society. Times, Sunday Times
Of course he is greedy, selfish and without moral fibre. Times, Sunday Times
He is an amiable character when he is in the pub but he can be a very selfish man. Times, Sunday Times
There was a dame's school in their little village of Fonthill Abbey, but the poverty of the family would have made it impossible for Joan to attend had it not been for an unselfish person residing there, a Mr. King, who was anxious that every child should be taught its letters. A Shepherd's Life Impressions of the South Wiltshire Downs
Rejecting the poor and wanting by denying them health care because of cost, or idealism about democracy, is just selfish. mattie Kennedy death may bolster health reform, analyst says
We re a nice little selfish country of petroholics, and that has made us lazy, said Frederic Hauge, president of Bellona , Norways largest nongovernmental environmental organization.
No doubt the result, he thought, of selfishness, his other besetting sin. BARN BLIND
The cause of suffering is selfish desire, whether it is the desire for pleasure, desire for revenge, or simply desire for a long life.
And he sees the most critical aspect of human nature to be our conflicted status as both selfless and selfish creatures. The Times Literary Supplement
By our very nature, we are selfish, jealous, envious, stricken with strife, and sometimes downright rebellious.
We learn that greed is not good and selfish people get their just deserts. Times, Sunday Times

How To Use Selfish In A Sentence

Report a problem

Please indicate a type of error

Additional information (optional):