self-absorbed
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does self-absorbed mean? Self-absorbed is an adjective used to describe a person who’s preoccupied with their own wants and needs. When used in this term, the word absorbed means deeply preoccupied or totally wrapped up in something—in this case, oneself. Self-absorbed is almost always used negatively. When you call people self-absorbed, it usually means you think they only think about and care about themselves. The term is typically used to describe a person’s overall personality (as opposed to their behavior on a certain day or at a certain time). The state of being self-absorbed is called self-absorption (notice how the b becomes a p in the noun absorption). Example: My therapist helped me to see how self-absorbed I was, only ever thinking about myself and making everything about me.
Etymology
Origin of self-absorbed
First recorded in 1840–50
Explanation
If you're overly concerned with yourself, including your own feelings and thoughts, you're self-absorbed. Self-absorbed people don't think much about how others are feeling. Your self-absorbed acquaintance Isn't likely to ask you sincerely how you're doing today, because he's too busy thinking about himself. And a self-absorbed driver who gets in a fender bender might rush to see if her car is scratched rather than checking to make sure her passenger is okay. Self-absorbed dates from the late 18th century, from self and absorbed, "engrossed mentally."
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.
In 2016’s The Mandibles, she created a character whom she described as a “pure piss-take” of herself: belligerent, tactless, a maniacal exerciser–the Ur-Boomer, utterly self-absorbed and an unalloyed financial disaster for society.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
The long-suffering recording engineer reaches his breaking point after becoming totally fed up with the band’s self-absorbed, self-destructive behavior.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
Bellingham's talent is without question but he has long been a polarising figure amid reports some in the England camp believe he is too self-absorbed.
From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025
By Alan, of course, he is referring to his much-loved and often quoted comedy creation, Alan Partridge - the tactless, self-absorbed and self-styled presenter.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
Mantell was a lanky assemblage of shortcomings–he was vain, self-absorbed, priggish, neglectful of his family–but never was there a more devoted amateur paleontologist.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
