Egoistical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Excessively concerned with one's own interests, desires, and well-being while disregarding the needs and feelings of others
2. Being extremely preoccupied with personal gain, aspirations, and welfare, often at the expense of the emotions and requirements of those around oneself
3. Demonstrating a pronounced focus on individual benefits, wishes, and happiness, frequently neglecting the perspectives and needs of others

Etymology: "Egoistical" is a stacked formation: Latin "ego" (meaning "I"), the French-derived suffix "-iste" (from Latin "-ista"), which marks someone who holds a doctrine or practises something, and the adjectival endings "-ic" and "-al." The chain runs from Latin "ego" through French "égoïste" into English "egoist," then "egoistic," and finally "egoistical," with "-al" added on top of "egoistic" in English. So the word is essentially "egoistic" with one more layer of adjectival suffix, and the core idea is simply "pertaining to the self." The noun "egoist" arrived in English first, and the adjective forms followed from it. Because "-al" is a productive English adjective ending, speakers were able to attach it to "egoistic" without any special coinage, which is why "egoistical" feels like a slightly heavier, more emphatic version of "egoistic." The suffix does not add a new idea so much as stretch the same one, which is how many English adjectives built on -ical grew up alongside their shorter forms.

Synonyms: selfish, egotistical, self-centered, narcissistic, vain

Antonyms: altruistic, selfless, unselfish, generous, philanthropic