ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Self-serving

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Self-serving is an adjective meaning Showing interest only in oneself (pursuing self-interest to the exclusion of other goals).

Meaning

Showing interest only in oneself (pursuing self-interest to the exclusion of other goals).

Example Sentences

Don’t assume that the connotations of authority, history, scholarship, hallowed tradition and judiciousness in the word “Academy” actually fit this self-serving club.
"Most of the time when people consider the question of what rules society should have for using software, the people considering it are from software companies, and they consider the question from a self-serving perspective," says Stallman, opening his speech.
While the PSOE’s leader and caretaker prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, argues that the act of clemency would help promote coexistence after the tumultuous political and territorial crisis of 2017, his opponents have decried the move as a cynical and self-serving means of remaining in power.
For entirely self-serving reasons, ministers and civil servants never dispelled the public belief that uncaring 'fat cat' privateers or foreign state railways were in control, ramping up fares and creaming off profits which either enriched shareholders or subsidised European rail fares. DfT left train operators to 'take the heat' - which they dutifully did, fearful of speaking up and 'biting the hand that feeds'.

Word Forms

Synonyms for self-serving

Depending on context, synonyms include egocentric, self-centered, self-interested, egoistical, idiocentric, individualistic.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include self-seeking, selfish, self-centred, self-interested, self-centered, egocentric.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.