egoism.

An attitude or doctrine that gives primary importance to one’s own interests.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• ethical egoism
• psychological egoism

On the page

The essay distinguished ethical egoism from the claim that all behavior is necessarily self-interested.

His egoism appeared in decisions that repeatedly placed his convenience before the group’s needs.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / character / human behavior. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: characterization, motivation analysis, behavioral comparison, qualification. Disciplines: psychology, social behavior, character writing. Commonness: moderately common.