altruism
Other forms: altruisms
If you see a stranger getting beaten up on the playground and you rush in to rescue them, you have done something unselfish to help another person, otherwise known as an act of altruism.
Use the noun altruism to refer to feelings or actions that show an unselfish concern for other people. In science, altruism refers to animal behavior that could be harmful to the animal itself but that contributes to the survival of the animal group. It's related to the adjective altruistic. Someone known for their altruism is an altruist.
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the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of otherssynonyms: selflessnessantonyms:egoismconcern for your own interests and welfaretype of:unselfishnessthe quality of not putting yourself first but being willing to give your time or money or effort etc. for others
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Vocabulary lists containing altruism
The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is widely recognized as "Giving Tuesday." The point of this social movement is to encourage people to give instead of get, and it's cleverly timed to follow the gluttony (both culinary and commercial) of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday has become an important fundraising event for charitable and nonprofit organizations around the world.
Learn this list of political and philosophical terms that end in the suffix -ism.
The suffix ism is added to words to mean "the process or action of" or "the system, principle, or theory of." We're sure you'll learn these -ism words with optimism!