as in selfish
overly concerned with one's own desires, needs, or interests
she's just another self-serving politician who puts her own ambitions above the public good
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Recent Examples of self-serving
Yet, some are sticking with this self-serving loser.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
The vigilantes who hanged her were self-serving cattlemen.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 28 Mar. 2026
But the truth is that none of Monica’s parodic elements would matter that much if the music felt like a genuine experiment rather than a self-serving, big-budget attempt to deepen his image.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
Anybody so certain of anything — except maybe that the markets will be open for trading tomorrow — is acting out of their own self-serving interests to drive fear and gain more attention.
—Todd Gordon, CNBC, 10 Mar. 2026
But this remains a polling no-brainer for lawmakers, who are tired of being seen as self-serving greed monsters.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 9 Mar. 2026
Go hard at the self-serving Secret Society of the AG, Senate president and House speaker blocking the will of the people.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
The sentence is remarkably self-serving, even for Meta.
—Sarah Jeong, The Verge, 1 Mar. 2026
On her deathbed, Mary exhorts her son to take advantage of this situation in grotesquely self-serving terms at odds with the movie’s overall soak-the-rich ethos.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
The vigilantes who hanged her were self-serving cattlemen.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 28 Mar. 2026
But the truth is that none of Monica’s parodic elements would matter that much if the music felt like a genuine experiment rather than a self-serving, big-budget attempt to deepen his image.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
Anybody so certain of anything — except maybe that the markets will be open for trading tomorrow — is acting out of their own self-serving interests to drive fear and gain more attention.
—Todd Gordon, CNBC, 10 Mar. 2026
But this remains a polling no-brainer for lawmakers, who are tired of being seen as self-serving greed monsters.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 9 Mar. 2026
Go hard at the self-serving Secret Society of the AG, Senate president and House speaker blocking the will of the people.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
The sentence is remarkably self-serving, even for Meta.
—Sarah Jeong, The Verge, 1 Mar. 2026
On her deathbed, Mary exhorts her son to take advantage of this situation in grotesquely self-serving terms at odds with the movie’s overall soak-the-rich ethos.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-serving
selfish
Adjective
-
In contrast, his wife, Chandravati, is selfish as a daughter-in-law and disrespects Swasthani, leading to enormous misery for her.—
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
-
All because a librarian introduced me to a selfish, spoiled girl who desperately needed a place to belong.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-serving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-serving. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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