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 of narcissism

• selfness
• selfishness
• vanity
• ego
• egocentrism
• egocentricity
• egomania
• self-absorption
• egoism

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

Of course, there are many lovely actors who are curious and ask you questions about yourself and are normal, but a lot of them have been suffering from long-term main character energy and don’t have the magnetic personality to offset their narcissism. —Ryan O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 4 May 2026

The narcissism charge was especially baffling. —Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026

Shooting the final sequence from Cassie’s point of view was a last-minute adjustment, which Levinson made the day of filming to emphasize Cassie’s narcissism and selfishness. —Zoe Papelis, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2026

This action demonstrates the president’s monumental cruelty, total lack of empathy and compassion, pathological narcissism, boundless vengefulness, abysmal ignorance and glaring immaturity. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026

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

Rhymes for narcissism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism

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