self-centered
adjective
Simple meaning
Concerned or about the self, and not necessarily the greater good of one's group, community.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sehlfsehnterdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɛlfˈsɛntɚd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Concerned or relating to the self, and not necessarily the greater good of one's group, community, tribe, etc.; individualistic.
Egotistically obsessed with oneself.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Concerned or relating to the self, and not necessarily the greater good of one's group, community, tribe, etc.; individualistic.
Used this way, self-centered is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.