Self-centered Definition & Meaning

Definition

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms self-centered American [self-sen-terd] / ˈsɛlfˈsɛn tərd / especially British, self-centred

adjective

1. concerned solely or chiefly with one's own interests, welfare, etc.; engrossed in self; selfish; egotistical.

2. independent, self-sufficient.

3. centered in oneself or itself.

4. Archaic. fixed; unchanging.

Other Word Forms

• selfcenteredly adverb
• selfcenteredness noun
• unself-centered adjective

Etymology

Origin of self-centered

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Of course, you probably don’t mean all boomers are self-centered.

From MarketWatch

“When we are really young, we’re a bit self-centered,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

“I got to a place where I got over myself, because actually thinking that way is quite self-centered, and I think a little bit non-appreciative too.”

From Los Angeles Times

She relocates “The Seagull,” as a program note specifies and her production flamboyantly conveys, “to the self-centered Me Generation of the ’70s that followed the social upheaval of the ’60s.”

From Los Angeles Times

The fact that they are being paid to do this, with all the trappings of every parents-under-stress reality show, only adds to the air of self-centered exploitation.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• egocentric
• egotistical
• self-absorbed
• self-indulgent
• selfish

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.