narcissism
Americannoun
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inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.
- Synonyms:
- egocentrism, smugness
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Psychiatry. narcissistic personality disorder.
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Psychoanalysis. erotic gratification derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.
noun
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an exceptional interest in or admiration for oneself, esp one's physical appearance
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sexual satisfaction derived from contemplation of one's own physical or mental endowments
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of narcissism
First recorded in 1820–25, and in 1900–05 narcissism for def. 3; see narcissus, -ism. The psychoanalysis meaning is from the German word Narzissismus, coined in 1899 by Paul Näcke (1851–1913), German psychiatrist and criminologist
Explanation
Do you have a friend who constantly turns the conversation to themselves, as in "That's great about your winning the award but do you think these pants look good on me?" They're putting their narcissism, or excessive love of self, on display. In psychoanalysis, narcissism is erotic gratification derived from excessive love for yourself, and is considered to be a normal developmental stage. The reference is to Narcissus, a beautiful youth in Greek mythology who fell in love with his reflection in a body of water and was changed into the flower narcissus, which grows near water.
Vocabulary lists containing narcissism
Power Suffix: -ism
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Middle School
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Ancient Greece: Mythology and Literature - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
S Mark Young, a professor at the University of Southern California and author of The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America, says Federline's book is unlikely to change people's minds about her.
From BBC • Oct. 24, 2025
Narcissism comes with the territory of memoirs; modest people don’t bare their souls to the world.
From Washington Post • Feb. 2, 2023
Narcissism really has to do with the person’s intentions and how they view the world.
From Slate • Jan. 17, 2023
Narcissism by proxy refers to a condition in which a person — or a group of people — think and act in ways that benefit a narcissist's own goals despite not necessarily being narcissists themselves.
From Salon • Sep. 20, 2022
Narcissism may have been present, for in my twelfth year I had been told that at the age of 5 and 6 I was an extraordinarily beautiful little creature with long, lint-white hair.
From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Ellis, Havelock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
