Altruistic: Definition, Usage & Examples

Meaning 1：selflessly helping others (altruistic)

altruistic 🔊

/ˌæl.truˈɪs.tɪk/

adj.

Wanting to help other people without thinking about getting something back.

Altruistic behavior illustrated by a volunteer helping an elderly person carry groceries up stairs.

selflessly helping others 🔊

➕

/ˈselfləsli ˈhelpɪŋ ˈʌðərz/

adj.

Describes actions or motives that are characterized by a selfless concern for the well-being of others, without expectation of personal gain.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From French 'autrui' (meaning 'other people'), derived from Latin 'alteri' (meaning 'others').

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'All True Heroes Are Altruistic' – they help others selflessly.

📖 Example

She spends her weekends doing altruistic work, helping to clean up the local park and plant trees for the community. 🔊 She spends her weekends doing selfless work, helping to clean up the local park and plant trees for the community.

🔗 Collocations

altruistic act – a deed done purely for the benefit of others

altruistic motives – reasons for acting that are selfless and charitable

altruistic behavior – conduct focused on helping others

🔄 Synonyms

selfless (adj.) – concerned more with the needs of others than with one's own

philanthropic (adj.) – seeking to promote the welfare of others, especially through charitable donations

humanitarian (adj.) – concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare

🚫 Antonyms

selfish (adj.) – concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure

egotistical (adj.) – excessively self-centered

🌱 Derivatives

altruism (n.) – the belief in or practice of selfless concern for others

altruistically (adv.) – in a selfless manner

📖 Cultural Story

Coined by French philosopher Auguste Comte from 'autrui' (others). It forms the basis of 'altruism', a key concept in ethics and philosophy contrasting with 'egoism'.