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
Frank Conroy2
: 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
Robert Karen3
: love of or sexual desire of one's own body
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
And the pas de deux turns out to be the central metaphor of a series built on dualities, power struggles, romances, the attraction of opposites, the narcissism of small differences that divide counterparts on either side of an ocean.
—Judy Berman, Time, 23 Apr. 2025
Perfectionism Unlike narcissism, perfectionism was associated with both the likelihood and frequency of experiencing the ick.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
The personality trait of narcissism develops in childhood and can be measured from middle childhood, around age seven.
—Eddie Brummelman, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 2025
Actors have special license to this mode of narcissism.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2025
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Judy Berman, Time, 23 Apr. 2025
Perfectionism Unlike narcissism, perfectionism was associated with both the likelihood and frequency of experiencing the ick.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
The personality trait of narcissism develops in childhood and can be measured from middle childhood, around age seven.
—Eddie Brummelman, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 2025
Actors have special license to this mode of narcissism.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for narcissism
Cite this Entry
“Narcissism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/narcissism. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
narcissism
noun
nar·cis·sism
ˈnär-sə-ˌsiz-əm
: excessive love and admiration for oneself and especially one's own appearance
Medical Definition
narcissism
noun
nar·cis·sism
ˈnär-sə-ˌsiz-əm
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
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