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Which flower is associated with the mythological origin story of the word narcissist?

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narcissist

American  

[nahr-suh-sist] / ˈnɑr sə sɪst /

Also narcist

noun

• narcissists
  plural

1. a person who is overly self-involved, and often vain and selfish.

2. Psychiatry. a person who has narcissistic personality disorder.

3. Psychoanalysis. a person who experiences or exhibits narcissism, deriving erotic gratification from admiration of their own physical or mental attributes.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• narcissists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of narcissist

First recorded in 1915–20; narciss(ism) + -ist

Compare meaning

How does narcissist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• egomaniac vs. narcissist
• narcissist vs. selfish

Explanation

The noun narcissist refers to someone intensely concerned with only his or her own self or interests and who seems to forget that others exist. The noun narcissist today means someone only concerned with his or her own interests or predicament and its origin is from Greek mythology. Narcissus was a hunter who was exceptionally beautiful and also just as proud of his looks, ignoring other people around him. He was punished by the gods by falling in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Not realizing it was himself he loved, he eventually died from unrequited love.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

narcissist narcissists

South African film and TV critic Phil Mphela said The Polygamist was less about cultural polygamy and more about "the outrageous behaviour of this husband" - someone he sees as a narcissist.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Protagonist Clark loses himself in it, transforming into an unapologetic narcissist surrounded only by facile representations of humanity.

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026

I don’t know whether or not he is a narcissist, but from your retelling, he is someone who has always looked out for himself.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 25, 2026

Gustav might be merely a narcissist, but there’s a chance that what he is really seeking is to repair things by telling the family story onscreen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

Maybe I was a narcissist or something, but when I realized it there in that moment at Oranjee, it made me like him even more.

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

Stop paying attention to narcissists and start living life on your terms.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026

The situation is a great example of how narcissists defeat themselves.

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2026

“And we always talked about it as these two narcissists who essentially learn by the end of the season to care about one other person — each other.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026

And there is the wholesale trashing of the editorial staffers of the real-life Condé Nast, here a gaggle of privileged narcissists who are accidentally infected, quarantined and treated like human garbage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026

No doubt, narcissists engage in anti-Other discourse and other virulent and pernicious narratives.

From Terrorists and Freedom Fighters by Samuel Vaknin