unselfish

1 of 2

adjective

un·​self·​ish ˌən-ˈsel-fish How to pronounce unselfish (audio)
Synonyms of unselfishnext
: not selfish : generous
unselfishly adverb
unselfishness noun

unselfishness

2 of 2

noun

un·​selfishness
"+
: the quality or state of being unselfish

Synonyms of unselfish

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Adjective

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Examples of unselfish in a Sentence

Adjective She's a very unselfish young woman. an unselfish man who spends much of his time helping his community
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Adjective
Atlanta plays unselfish basketball, but sticks largely to its starters; Golden State has more of an all-hands-on-deck arrangement. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Lewandowski's unselfish pass to a wide-open Haile-Selassie at the back post capped the scoring in the 88th minute. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Apart from the group’s buy-in to doing the little things, its commitment to unselfish football keeps one of the most dynamic running games in the country from fracturing. — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026 With tons of space, Chawinga made the unselfish pass to Hopkins across the box. — Spencer Baldwin, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unselfish

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1698, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unselfish was in 1698

Rhymes for unselfish

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Browse Nearby Words

unselfconscious
unselfish
unselfishly
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Cite this Entry

“Unselfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unselfish. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

unselfish

adjective
un·​self·​ish ˌən-ˈsel-fish How to pronounce unselfish (audio)
ˈən-
: not selfish : generous
unselfishly adverb
unselfishness noun
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