unselfish

adjectiveB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #8,868 of 15,258neutral

Unselfish means putting other people first. An unselfish act, unselfish play, unselfish to a fault.

In team sport it is high praise and means passing when you could shoot, which is a measurable thing. Elsewhere it describes character. It is milder than selfless, which claims the person is not considered at all. Note that the un- attaches to selfish, so the word is defined by what it is not.

Definitions of unselfish

1adjectiveunselfishPutting other people first.B2+
“It was very unselfish of her to give up her holiday to look after her sick mother.”
synonyms: generous, selfless

unselfish is a quality of generosity.

Where it comes from

From un- + selfish.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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unselfish in the wild

Unlike his close friend Dylan McKay, who was portrayed as an anti-hero, Brandon's motives were often unselfish, and he was more of a traditional hero than Dylan.
Brandon Walsh
The story focused on the concept of unselfish friendship and emotional bonding between friends who are from different social backgrounds.
Aati Rahengi Baharein
Firgun is an informal modern Hebrew term and concept in Israeli culture, which compliments someone or describes genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of another person.
Firgun

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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