narcissus
noun
any bulbous plant belonging to the genus Narcissus, of the amaryllis family, having showy yellow or white flowers with a cup-shaped corona.
narcissus
American
[nahr-sis-uhs]
/ nɑrˈsɪs əs /
noun
-
narcissus,
plural
-
narcissuses,
plural
-
narcissi
plural
-
any bulbous plant belonging to the genus Narcissus, of the amaryllis family, having showy yellow or white flowers with a cup-shaped corona.
-
the flower of any of these plants.
-
(initial capital letter) a youth who fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool and wasted away from unsatisfied desire, whereupon he was transformed into the flower.
narcissus
1
British
/ nɑːˈsɪsəs /
noun
Narcissus
2
British
/ nɑːˈsɪsəs /
noun
Narcissus
Cultural
Usage
What does narcissus mean? A narcissus is a showy, cup- or trumpet-shaped flower that comes in white, yellow, and orange varieties. The name narcissus is also used for any plant in the genus Narcissus. The plural forms of narcissus are narcissuses and narcissi. Common varieties include the daffodil (scientific name Narcissus pseudonarcissus), the jonquil (N. jonquilla), and the paper-white narcissus (N. tazetta). The narcissus is popular for bouquets and gardens. Narcissus is one of the December birth flowers (a flower that’s associated with a particular month in the same way as a birthstone). Example: The narcissus is one of my favorite flowers—I just love its trumpet shape.
Discover More
“Narcissists” are people completely absorbed in themselves. (See narcissism.)
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of narcissus
1540–50; < Latin < Greek nárkissos plant name, traditionally connected, by virtue of plant's narcotic effects, with nárkē numbness, torpor. See narcotic
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.
See Examples For:
Daffodils - or narcissus - have been bred for centuries and there are believed to be around 30,000 varieties in the UK, but only 6% contain pink.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
That is not true, because, following the myth of narcissus to its end, he is nearing the level of complete self-destruction.
From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2023
The most prominent feature on it—which is also the feature prompting said drama—is a green, human-like face, transforming at its edges into a jumble of foliage, crowned in primrose and narcissus.
From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2023
If you are prone to botanic speak, you can call a daffodil a narcissus.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2021
The first story about the creation of the narcissus is told only in an early Homeric Hymn of the seventh or eighth century, the second I have taken from Ovid.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Experts across the country would then be able to "examine and give us a definitive answer" if those discovered by the public are Narcissus 'Mrs R.O Backhouse'.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
These new forms of entertainment are becoming the lake to our Narcissus: You can gaze into your phone and see yourself staring back, having all kinds of thrills, spills and chills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
McLuhan likened our contemporary ills to the often misunderstood myth of Narcissus.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2025
Faced with more bulbs than planting time, last fall I resorted to filling a small container with Narcissus bulbocodium topped off with winter pansies.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 19, 2023
“Ladies, hold it! I need to ask Narcissus something.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Behind the closed gates are newly-planted gardens, which have been filled with Diana's favourite flowers: white roses, scented narcissi and a carpet of forget-me-nots.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2017
Banks of creamy-gold narcissi are out and you can hear birdsong.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 26, 2016
They also have a Newport mansion and an estate at Old Westbury, where Mrs. Loew raises prize narcissi.
From Time Magazine Archive
Carried away by his precept and example, the farmers reduce their planting to what they can eat, turn their animals loose, crowd their fallow land with narcissi, make friends with a stag and his doe.
From Time Magazine Archive
Two redeeming things caught John Westley's eye—a bowl of blooming narcissi and a painting of Sir Galahad.
From Highacres by Harriet Roosevelt Richards
Among the scores of bouquets and sympathetic messages from Britain's great was a modest bunch of irises and narcissuses with a note attached: With best wishes for a speedy recovery.
From Time Magazine Archive
On the walls, upholstered in purple, small mirrors were fixed here and there, and narcissism was further indicated by narcissuses floating in the tub.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Then go and get me some jonquils and narcissuses."
From The Open Question a tale of two temperaments by Elizabeth Robins
The air was so rich with the mingled perfume of violets, orange flowers, jessamines, tuberoses, hyacinths and narcissuses that the King and his visitors were sometimes obliged to fly from the overpowering sweets.
From The Story of Versailles by Francis Loring Payne
I think there are more wild-flowers upon the Monte Generoso than upon any other that I know, and among them numbers of beautiful wild narcissuses, as on the Monte Cenere.
From Alps and Sanctuaries of Piedmont and the Canton Ticino by Samuel Butler
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.
