Selfishness is always voluntary and always wrong, being that regard to our own interests, gratification, etc., which is sought or indulged at the expense, and to the injury, of others.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Example sentences

egoism Egoism is the prime cause of cancer of the soul.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
selfishness		rising
egoism		steady
selfhood		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

6 letters: egoism⁴
8 letters: interest², selfhood
13 letters: egocentricity

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (egoism⁴ = 4 syllables).