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.
“Seinfeld,” a show starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld playing a version of himself and often humorously described as a show about nothing, followed four self absorbed friends in New York City.
From Reuters • Sep. 16, 2019
But Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald get their turns as these self absorbed kids come to the realisation that they all have pressures and fears that they can relate to.
From The Guardian • May 8, 2018
For quite awhile the younger generations have become self absorbed.
From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2018
"He would obsess about matters, frequently over complicating things... it was all very self absorbed," Mr Lloyd-Jones said.
From BBC • Jan. 13, 2016
Thy self-taught soul thine own deep spirit knows; Made by thyself thy mighty form arose; Into the same, when all things have their end, Shall thy great self, absorbed in Thee, descend.
From The Birth of the War-God A Poem by Kalidasa by Kalidasa
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.
