selfishly

adverb

self·​ish·​ly ˈsel-fish-lē How to pronounce selfishly (audio)
: in a selfish way
acting/behaving selfishly
… he selfishly hogged attention for his injury …Louise Erdrich
He finds support for his intuition from game theory, which says that if everyone in a game acts selfishly, everyone suffers.Gina Kolata

Examples of selfishly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
We are now being told to believe in an America that can chart its course selfishly—from Greenland to Panama to Canada to Gaza—almost entirely on the basis of a surreal mixture of Manifest Destiny, gunboat diplomacy, and golf resort and tournament planning. Penny Abeywardena, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025 And so the two women selfishly agree to share the rogue doubles, while Mickey 18 plots a coup. Peter Debruge, Variety, 15 Feb. 2025 On the flip side, others felt Ward was selfishly in it for only the record. Ryan Morik, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2025 Roger, while well-meaning, behaves selfishly and relies on a sly combination of charm and humor to deflect from genuine emotional connection. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for selfishly

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of selfishly was in 1645

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Cite this Entry

“Selfishly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selfishly. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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