Standard Lemma guide

unselfish

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Not selfish.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The man was in an unselfish mood that day, so decided to give a £20 note to the next charity he came across.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: selfless, generous, altruistic

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

disregarding your own advantages and welfare over those of others

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: selfish

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

not greedy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English selfish English unselfish From un- + selfish.

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: безкористен (bezkoristen) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Catalan: desinteressat — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Chinese Mandarin: 無私的 /无私的 (wúsī) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Czech: nesobecký — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Danish: uselvisk — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Dutch: onbaatzuchtig — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Dutch: onzelfzuchtig — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Finnish: epäitsekäs — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • French: généreux — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Georgian: უანგარო (uangaro) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Georgian: ალტრუისტული (alṭruisṭuli) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Georgian: არაეგოისტური (araegoisṭuri) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • German: uneigennützig — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • German: selbstlos — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Hungarian: önzetlen — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Italian: altruista — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Italian: altruistico — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Japanese: 利他的 (ritateki) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Japanese: 献身的 (kenshinteki) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uselvisk — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: usjølvisk — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Polish: bezinteresowny — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Portuguese: generoso — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Romanian: dezinteresat — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Russian: бескоры́стный (beskorýstnyj) — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Spanish: altruista — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Spanish: desprendido — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Spanish: generoso — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Swedish: osjälvisk — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Swedish: oegennyttig — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Swedish: altruistisk — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic
  • Turkish: özverili — not selfish; selfless; generous; altruistic