narcissistic
adjective
nar·cis·sis·tic
ˌnär-sə-ˈsi-stik 
: of, relating to, or characterized by narcissism: such as
a
: extremely self-centered with an exaggerated sense of self-importance : marked by or characteristic of excessive admiration of or infatuation with oneself
a narcissistic personality
He was a very narcissistic man, not too concerned with the world.—
Oliver Sacks
Oliver SacksBut when a mother's narcissistic needs are so great that she cannot relate to her child as he really is, she loves her child as a self-object—that is, as someone put on this earth to meet her needs.—Sue Erikson Bloland
see also narcissistic personality disorder
Sue Erikson Bloland
b
: displaying or marked by excessive concern with one's own physical appearance
… she describes the bind created for women by the judgment that a woman preoccupied with her looks is narcissistic and a woman who is not is unfeminine.—Carol Gilligan
Carol GilliganOur narcissistic culture has turned us into a nation of body-image "junkies" using everything in our power to carve, reshape, remold, and recast our bodies' natural shapes and processes so that they are better fitted to our desires.—Andrew Kimbrell
Andrew KimbrellExamples of narcissistic in a Sentence
trying to raise the social consciousness of the normally narcissistic Hollywood community
Recent Examples on the Web
On a far too frequent basis, Americans have listened to the erratic falsehoods of a pathologically narcissistic president while our Republican leaders in Congress cower in the corners of their offices in a state of self-protective paralysis.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2026
Today’s young men came of age on the social internet, during the upheavals of COVID-19, and under the political dominance of the most narcissistic and superficial president in American history.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
Was Kiritsis a narcissistic madman or a schmuck who’d put too much trust in the American ideals of hard work and fair treatment?
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Even though a lot of what happens in the book borders on the ridiculous because of the behavior of narcissistic selfish venal individuals.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 26 Dec. 2025
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Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2026
Today’s young men came of age on the social internet, during the upheavals of COVID-19, and under the political dominance of the most narcissistic and superficial president in American history.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
Was Kiritsis a narcissistic madman or a schmuck who’d put too much trust in the American ideals of hard work and fair treatment?
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Even though a lot of what happens in the book borders on the ridiculous because of the behavior of narcissistic selfish venal individuals.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for narcissistic
Cite this Entry
“Narcissistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/narcissistic. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
narcissistic
adjective
nar·cis·sis·tic
ˌnär-sə-ˈsis-tik
: of, relating to, or characterized by narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder
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