Selfishnesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An excessive concern for one's own advantage, often disregarding the needs of others
2. The quality of being primarily focused on personal gain rather than on the well-being of others
3. A mindset characterized by a lack of consideration for others due to self-centered motives

Etymology: "Selfishnesses" is the plural of "selfishness," and the plural itself is the more unusual form. The noun "selfishness" is built from the adjective "selfish" plus the suffix "-ness," which English has attached to adjectives since Old English to turn a quality into a noun. "Selfish" is formed from "self" and the adjectival suffix "-ish," so the word is a stack of layers: the reflexive "self" at the root, a suffix meaning "having the quality of," and then a second suffix that names the quality itself. The suffix "-ness" traces back to an Old English noun "-nes," which in turn descends from Proto-Germanic forms and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European, though the English word is a straightforward native construction rather than a borrowing. Because "selfishness" is an abstract, uncountable quality, English speakers rarely need its plural, which is why the form "selfishnesses" appears mainly when writers want to talk about individual acts or instances of self-interest, as in "a series of petty selfishnesses."

Synonyms: egotism, self-centeredness, narcissism

Antonyms: selflessness, altruism