Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
do-gooderism

do-gooderism

9.8
An attitude of trying to help others in a way that seems proud and annoying
  • noun
  • /ˈduːˌɡʊdərˌɪzəm/
  • Offensive
translation icon : buenismo
  • Many people in the town resented the outsider's do-gooderism and preferred to handle matters themselves.

Examples

  • The editorial accused the government of unnecessary do-gooderism in its social welfare policies.

  • His speech was filled with the kind of do-gooderism that some listeners found insincere.

  • His constant do-gooderism annoys many people.

  • Many view her do-gooderism as insincere.

  • The community was skeptical of her do-gooderism, believing she wanted to be seen as a hero rather than truly help.

  • Despite his intentions, many criticized his do-gooderism as being self-serving rather than genuinely altruistic.

  • Some locals reacted negatively to the organization's do-gooderism, feeling it undermined their own efforts to improve the neighborhood.

Synonyms

do-gooding
vsdo-gooderism
  • Offensive
1 8.2

Helping others in a way that makes you seem better than them

is an attitude of excessive self-righteous concern rather than the acts themselves
goody-goodyism
vsdo-gooderism
  • Informal
9.9

A way of behaving that tries too hard to please or follow rules and seems fake

focuses on excessive concern for others' welfare rather than rule-pleasing

Antonyms

selfishness
50 3.0

Caring only about yourself and not about other people

apathy
43 6.2

A lack of interest or care about things

How Self-Righteous

do-gooderism
  • Offensive
9.8
helpfulness
3 2.3
altruism
24 6.5

Surface Forms

do-gooderism singular
do-gooderisms plural
do gooderisms plural
do gooderism singular

Morphology

do-gooderism = do-gooder (semi-transparent) = do + good + er + ism

Formed from 'do-gooder' + '-ism' in a regular way, but the pejorative and attitudinal nuance of 'do-gooder' (self-righteous reformer) may not be fully predictable from 'do' + 'good'.

Etymology

Do-gooderism comes from do-gooder, a name for someone who tries to 'do good', plus the ending -ism (as in heroism) meaning 'belief or habit'. So, do-gooderism describes the habit or attitude of trying to help others in a way that seems proud or too showy.