selflessness

nounC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — self sits at #1,950neutral

Selflessness is putting other people's needs before your own. Consistently, and without keeping score.

It is one of the qualities most admired and least discussed, and it appears in tributes far more often than in ordinary conversation. The adjective selfless is commoner than the noun. There is a philosophical argument about whether genuine selflessness exists at all, since doing good feels good, and the argument has never been settled. Its opposite, selfishness, is one of the plainest criticisms in English.

Definitions of selflessness

1nounselflessnessConcern for others before yourself.C2
“Everybody spoke about her selflessness at the funeral.”

Where it comes from

From selfless + -ness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 37 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

selflessness in the wild

Selfishness is the opposite of altruism or selflessness, and has also been contrasted (as by C.
Selfishness
The story of the Rainbow Crow is a supposed Lenape legend, symbolizing the value of selflessness and service.
Rainbow crow
The work depicts the adventures of Hanuman and his selflessness, strength, and devotion to Rama are emphasised in the text.
Sundara Kanda
The tenets of theocentrism, such as humility, respect, moderations, selflessness, and mindfulness, can lend themselves towards a form of environmentalism.
Theocentrism
For his unique creativity and selflessness, he was always attended by Louis XIV and eventually became a trusted advisor to the monarch.
Jacques Gabriel

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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.

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