altruist
noun
al·tru·ist
ˈal-trü-ist 
: one that adheres to or practices altruism: such as
a
: an unselfish person whose actions show concern for the welfare of others
Kim signed up with Compass, a District-based group that serves the growing number of altruists who donate not only time and money to charity and the arts but also their professional expertise.—
Robert McCartney
Robert McCartney
b
: an animal that behaves in a way which is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but which benefits the survival of others of its species
Reciprocal altruism refers to the exchange of beneficial acts between individuals, in which the benefits to the recipient exceed the cost to the altruist. … Although the potential for reciprocal altruism exists in many animal societies, most interactions occur between closely related individuals …—Robert M. Seyfarth et al.
Robert M. Seyfarth et al.
Examples of altruist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Testimony at his trial suggested that his image as an altruist was at least partially a sham.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
The billionaires have bought a lot of brains: Many people in Silicon Valley and around the world now call themselves effective altruists.
—Leif Wenar, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
Yet despite these concerns and their nominal power in the OpenAI board, the explicit effective altruists in the organization lost out to those focused more on the immediate business opportunities.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2024
Several altruists on the list chose to direct their donations to advance higher education and research, especially in AI.
—Rana Wehbe Watson, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
On one side stood the effective altruist faction, to which former board member Helen Toner subscribed, that worries about a doomsday-like scenario where AI could destroy the world.
—Kylie Robison, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2023
Helen Toner, a director of strategy at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, was part of the effective altruist community that believes A.I. could one day destroy humanity.
—Karen Weise, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2023
Caroline Ellison’s rationalist Tumblr (archived here) documented her crypto-trading, effective altruist lifestyle, and provided food for analysis for dozens of think pieces.
—Allegra Rosenberg, The Verge, 17 Nov. 2023
By bringing existential risk to the forefront of international conversations, from the podium of a multibillion-dollar tech company, OpenAI’s CEO had propelled relatively fringe ideas popular among a certain slice of effective altruists into the mainstream.
—Peter Guest, WIRED, 22 Nov. 2023
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
The billionaires have bought a lot of brains: Many people in Silicon Valley and around the world now call themselves effective altruists.
—Leif Wenar, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
Yet despite these concerns and their nominal power in the OpenAI board, the explicit effective altruists in the organization lost out to those focused more on the immediate business opportunities.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2024
Several altruists on the list chose to direct their donations to advance higher education and research, especially in AI.
—Rana Wehbe Watson, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
On one side stood the effective altruist faction, to which former board member Helen Toner subscribed, that worries about a doomsday-like scenario where AI could destroy the world.
—Kylie Robison, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2023
Helen Toner, a director of strategy at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, was part of the effective altruist community that believes A.I. could one day destroy humanity.
—Karen Weise, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2023
Caroline Ellison’s rationalist Tumblr (archived here) documented her crypto-trading, effective altruist lifestyle, and provided food for analysis for dozens of think pieces.
—Allegra Rosenberg, The Verge, 17 Nov. 2023
By bringing existential risk to the forefront of international conversations, from the podium of a multibillion-dollar tech company, OpenAI’s CEO had propelled relatively fringe ideas popular among a certain slice of effective altruists into the mainstream.
—Peter Guest, WIRED, 22 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'altruist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1868, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near altruist
Cite this Entry
“Altruist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altruist. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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