narcissism

noun

nar·​cis·​sism ˈnär-sə-ˌsi-zəm 

1

: egoism, egocentrism

… up until my late 30's I lived in a state of utterly monstrous narcissism and self-absorption …

—Frank Conroy

2

: narcissistic personality disorder

One of the premier diagnoses of our times, narcissism is a reflection not only of an apparent trend in mental illness but also of the strains and distortions in the lives of essentially healthy people.

—Robert Karen

3

: love of or sexual desire of one's own body

Synonyms

• egocentricity
• egocentrism
• egoism
• egomania
• egotism
• navel-gazing
• self-absorption
• self-centeredness
• self-concern
• self-interest
• self-involvement
• self-preoccupation
• self-regard
• selfishness
• selfness

Examples of narcissism in a Sentence

in his narcissism, he just assumed that everyone else wanted to hear the tiny details of his day

Recent Examples on the Web

Memories flood back of his own childhood and youth, scarred by his parents’ religious fanaticism, climaxing in mother Montse channelling her narcissism into declaring herself the daughter of God. —John Hopewell, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023

Studies indicate that men with more narcissism have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than those with less narcissism. —Diana Kwon, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2023

Researchers found that individuals with high levels of psychopathy and narcissism are especially inclined towards this form of cheating. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

Memories flood back of his own childhood and youth, scarred by his parents’ religious fanaticism, climaxing in mother Montse channeling her narcissism into declaring herself the daughter of God. —John Hopewell, Variety, 14 Oct. 2023

Dear Amy: My 82-year-old mother has an undiagnosed mental illness, marked by narcissism, paranoia, delusions and abusive rages. —Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2023

There is also narcissism, there’s a little bit of everything. —Holly Jones, Variety, 27 Sep. 2023

It must be said that there are, so far, very, very few good people in this saga: Fats Domino and Pete Seeger seem almost the only exceptions to a near-endless tide of credit-stealers, wife-beaters, and vicious drunks; narcissism seems to be the regular price of pop genius. —Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 28 July 2023

My mom probably has narcissism and borderline personality disorders but has never been diagnosed. —Annie Lane, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Sep. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

narcissus + -ism; (sense 2) in part after German Narcismus (now Narzismus)

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

narcissism

noun

nar·​cis·​sism ˈnär-sə-ˌsiz-əm 

: excessive love and admiration for oneself and especially one's own appearance

narcissist

-sist 

noun

narcissistic

ˌnär-sə-ˈsis-tik 

adjective

Medical Definition

narcissism

noun

nar·​cis·​sism ˈnär-sə-ˌsiz-əm 

1

: narcissistic personality disorder

2

: love of or sexual desire for one's own body

3

: the state or stage of development in psychoanalytic theory in which there is considerable erotic interest in one's own body and ego and which in abnormal forms persists through fixation or reappears through regression