altruistic

UK/ˌæl.tɹuˈɪs.tɪk/US/ˌæl.tɹuˈɪs.tɪk/

adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,521 of 15,258neutral

Altruistic means caring for others before yourself. An altruistic act.

Whether any act is purely altruistic is one of the oldest arguments in philosophy. Altruistic behaviour is common in animals that live in groups, which is not a coincidence.

Definitions of altruistic

1adjectivealtruisticCaring for others before yourself.C1
“Giving a kidney to a complete stranger is a truly altruistic act.”

altruistic is a quality.

Where it comes from

From altruism, coined by Auguste Comte from Italian altrui, somebody else.

From altruist + -ic. See altruism.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

altruistic in the wild

The concept was initially developed by Robert Trivers to explain the evolution of cooperation as instances of mutually altruistic acts.
Reciprocal altruism
In case of the altruistic self-sacrifice, the aim is to fulfill an old tradition or to stop being a burden to the clan.
Senicide
Social exchange theory represents a seemingly altruistic behavior which benefits the altruist and outweighs the cost the altruist bears.
Empathy-altruism
When no such compensation is received, however, reciprocity fails to explain altruistic behaviour.
Competitive altruism
Both reciprocal altruism and competitive altruism anticipate that the more altruistic one is, the more they will receive.
Competitive altruism

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

← Vocabulary