self-interest

1. 1.

   taking advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others

   Synonymsopportunismself-seekingexpedience

   Broaderselfishness
2. 2.

   concern for your own interests and welfare

   Synonymsegoismegocentrismself-concernself-centeredness

   Broadertrait

Questions about self-interest

What does self-interest mean?

self-interest means "taking advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in self-interest?

self-interest has 3 syllables: sel-f-in-terest. The stress falls on "sel". In IPA it is /ˈsɛlˈfɪntɹəst/.

What is another word for self-interest?

Close synonyms include opportunism, self-seeking, expedience, egoism, egocentrism. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is self-interest a common word?

self-interest is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.