An altruist is someone who puts other people first and cares about their wellbeing. The word was coined in French in the 1800s, from the Latin for 'other'.
Wait... Is Being Kind the Same as Being an Altruist?
Almost, but not quite. An altruist puts other people first, often without expecting anything back. Kindness can be small and everyday. An altruist's whole approach is about helping others, sometimes at a cost to themselves.
Doing one nice thing? ❌
Choosing others again and again? ✅
What Does Altruist Mean?
An altruist is a person who cares about other people's welfare more than their own, and acts to help them.
My aunt is an altruist: she spends every Saturday cooking for people who need a hot meal.
🔊 Pronunciation
AL-troo-ist
The stress is on the first part: AL. The middle is a long oo, like true.
🗣️ Natural Examples
The firefighter was an altruist, always the first to volunteer for dangerous rescues.
Our class had an altruistic plan to collect books for the local library.
"Don't be an altruist for no reason," joked Sam. "Save some biscuits for yourself."
She acted with altruism when she gave her umbrella to a stranger in the rain.
🛠️ How to Use It
Altruist is a formal, positive word. It suits writing about character, history and charity.
- It's a noun: an altruist, a true altruist.
- Its adjective is altruistic: altruistic behaviour.
- Its noun form is altruism: acts of altruism.
🤝 Common Word Partners
- a true altruist
- altruistic behaviour
- an altruistic plan
- pure altruism
- an act of altruism
👨👩👧 Word Family
- altruist (noun): a person who puts others first.
- altruism (noun): care for others, without seeking reward.
- altruistic (adjective): caring for others. an altruistic act.
- altruistically (adverb): in a way that helps others.
👯 Similar and Related Words
- generous: giving freely. Often friendly, but not always focused on others' welfare.
- charitable: giving help to people in need.
- selfless: putting others first. A close match to altruistic.
- egoist (or egoistic): focused on your own interests. It's the opposite.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Altruist or altruistic?
❌ She is an altruistic. (noun needed)
✅ She is an altruist. / Her plan was altruistic.
Altruist is not a verb.
❌ He altruists every day.
✅ He acts altruistically every day.
💬 In a Conversation
Mia: Why did you give your lunch to the new kid?
Sam: He forgot his, and I wasn't that hungry.
Mia: That's very altruistic of you.
Sam: I'm not an altruist. I just don't like hungry people.
🕵️ Where Does It Come From?
This is the OddLingo part: altruism is a French word built from "other".
What we can say:
- The French word altruisme was coined or popularised around 1830 by the philosopher Auguste Comte. It's built on autrui, "of or to others".
- It comes from Latin alter, "other". Etymonline notes that the l was put back to match the Latin, not because of a sound change.
- Altruist appears in French around 1842, and English took the word around 1853.
So a word about helping others is built from the Latin for "the other one".
💡 The OddLingo Trick
Think of alter in altruist: the other person is at the centre. An altruist stands in the middle of other people's needs, not their own.