self-seeking.

Acting mainly to gain benefits for yourself, with little concern for others.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• self-seeking ambition
• a self-seeking politician

On the page

What appeared to be loyalty was, in the end, self-seeking calculation.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more self-seeking; superlative most self-seeking when comparison is meaningful. 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: description, character. Commonness: moderately common.