self-preservingadj.
/ˌsɛlfprᵻˈzəːvɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfprəˈzərvɪŋ/ Characterized by, motivated by, or having an instinct for self-preservation; designating such an instinct.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > [adjective] > life > instinctive
self-preserving1653
self-preservative1661
self-preservatory1825
1653 Brief Apologie Pious & Painfull Ministers Pref. sig. A2 God hath put a self-preserving principle into every Creature.
1683 R. Baxter Dying Thoughts 205 Birds, and Beasts, and Fishes, and Worms, have all a self-preserving fear of Death, which urgeth them to fly from danger.
1735 W. Somervile Chace ii. 503 Others, whom Fear Inspires with self-preserving Wiles.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. ii. v. 125 A traitorous self-preserving Court.
1860 S. Smiles Self-help (new ed.) xi. 292 The wholesome discipline of adversity in strong natures usually carries with it a self-preserving influence.
1927 Internat. Jrnl. Ethics 37 179 The self-preserving instincts of other creatures.
2016 Florida Times-Union (Nexis) 27 Sept. a6 A bloated and self-preserving bureaucracy.
Derivatives
self-preˈservingly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > [adverb] > so as to preserve oneself from trouble
self-preservingly1654
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. viii. 123 It was..more selfe-preservingly done to leave him to the Sarcasmes of his Book, then by a shoulder-experience to have learn'd how to write a literall invective against him.
1877 Survival 424 Society..lacks the sensitive unity that self-preservingly interests the whole in the part.
2006 E. Gilbert Eat, Pray, Love xvii. 52 Whether this makes me self-defeatingly stubborn, or self-preservingly stubborn, I cannot say.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1653