Altruism Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Altruism refers to a quality possessed by people whose focus is on something other than themselves, and its root reveals the object of those generous tendencies ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut altruism noun SaveWord al·​tru·​ism |\ˈal-trü-ˌi-zəm \ Definitionofaltruism 1 :unselfishregardforordevotiontothewelfareofothers charitableactsmotivatedpurelybyaltruism 2 :behaviorbyananimalthatisnotbeneficialtoormaybeharmfultoitselfbutthatbenefitsothersofitsspecies AltruismHasRootsinLatinandFrench MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutaltruism AltruismHasRootsinLatinandFrench Altruismreferstoaqualitypossessedbypeoplewhosefocusisonsomethingotherthanthemselves,anditsrootrevealstheobjectofthosegeneroustendencies.AltruismderivesfromtheFrenchwordautrui,meaning"otherpeople."Autrui,inturn,developedfromtheOldFrenchtermautre,whichmeans"other"andwhichitselfcomesfromLatinalter,alsomeaning"other."ThatLatinsourceeventuallycausedacuriousthingtohappen.Undertheinfluenceofalter,theFrenchautruigaverisetothealtrui-ofboththeFrenchaltruismeandtheEnglishaltruism.TheEnglishtermhasbeeninservicesinceatleastthemid-1800s. ExamplesofaltruisminaSentence Afewskimpycorporatepensionswerepaid,buttheywereofferedasmuchasdepartureincentivesdesignedtopromotebusinessefficiencyasexpressionsofaltruism. —W.AndrewAchenbaum,WilsonQuarterly,Spring2006 Marymayhaveampleresourcesandpreferthathersharepasstoherchildrenwhohavegreaterneedandareinlowerincometaxbrackets.(Theprogressivenatureofourtaxlawsoftenfosterssuchaltruismamongfamilymembers.) —WilliamM.McGovern,Jr.etal.,Wills,TrustsandEstates,1988 Andhestillchokesupwhenhetellsthestory.Evenatthatyoungage,heunderstoodthatwhathisauntwasdoingforhimwasthepurestactofaltruism. —GailSheehy,NewYorkTimesMagazine,20Apr.1986 RecentExamplesontheWeb Discoveringthismythic-levelaltruismwasphysicallymiserable. — WashingtonPost,21Mar.2022 In2014,GiveWell,oneofthefirsteffectivealtruismnonprofits,developedanewframeworkforevaluatingthebestcharities. — MichaelThomas,Quartz,25Jan.2022 Ina2017studyofpsychologicalresilienceamongAmericanmilitaryveterans,higherlevelsofaltruismandasenseofpurposepredictedresiliency. — NewYorkTimes,10Mar.2022 Ifthechimpanzeesbelievethebugstobemedicinal,thiswouldmaketheirapplicationbyothersaformofcaretaking,andasignofaltruism. — MaddieBender,Wired,8Mar.2022 IgorKurganov,aformerpropokerplayerwhoMuskbroughtonboardtohelpmanagehischaritablegiving,ishighlyinvolvedintheworldofeffectivealtruism,accordingtoBloomberg. — Time,16Feb.2022 Andselfishly,altruismhasadirectimpactonourownfulfillment,mentalhealth,andsatisfaction. — BrentGleeson,Forbes,22Sep.2021 Becausethechimpssometimesusebugstotreattheirfriends'woundstoo,thebehaviormaybeasignofaltruisminspecies,accordingtothestudypublishedMondayinCurrentBiology. — CorrynWetzel,SmithsonianMagazine,8Feb.2022 Inadditiontopromotingtheirownproducts,somedistillerieshavesteppeduptheiraltruismaswell,seeminglyinresponsetocurrenteventsoverthepastfewyearsasmuchastheirinnatemoralcompass. — JonahFlicker,RobbReport,22Oct.2021 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'altruism.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofaltruism 1853,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforaltruism Frenchaltruisme,fromautruiotherpeople,fromOldFrench,obliquecaseformofautreother,fromLatinalter LearnMoreAboutaltruism Sharealtruism PosttheDefinitionofaltruismtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofaltruismonTwitter TimeTravelerforaltruism Thefirstknownuseofaltruismwas in1853 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear ListentoOurPodcastAboutaltruism ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNearaltruism altro-heptulose altruism altruist SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforaltruism LastUpdated 8Apr2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Altruism.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altruism.Accessed18Apr.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MorefromMerriam-Websteronaltruism Thesaurus:Allsynonymsandantonymsforaltruism Nglish:TranslationofaltruismforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofaltruismforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutaltruism WORDOFTHEDAY elicit SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary NamethatColor Namethatcolor: aqua chartreuse cinnabar amaranth Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay RareandAmusingInsults Howdareyoucalledmeaninnyhammeryoupillock! GreatBigListofBeautifulandUselessWords Lovely,pointless,orboth? HowtoPronouncetheTrickiestMenuItems Nomoreorderanxiety! 13WonderfulWordsThatYou'reNotUsing(Yet) Wordsasdelightfulastheyarerare AsktheEditors EndingaSentencewithaPreposition Anold-fashionedrulewecannolongerputupwith. HowtoRemember'Affect'and'Effect' Asimplewaytokeepthemapart.(Mostofthetime.) 'Mispronunciations'ThatMayBeFine 'Mischievous,''nuclear,'andotherwordstopron... Webster'sDictionaryof1864 Thelandmarkeditionthattransformedthewaydic... WordGames HowStrongIsYourVocabulary? Takeourquiztofindout. Takethequiz CommonlyConfusedWordsQuiz Updatedwithmorecommonlyconfusedwords! Takethequiz NameThatThing Testyourvisualvocabulary. Takethequiz