self-absorption

American  

[self-ab-sawrp-shuhn, -zawrp-, self-] / ˈsɛlf æbˈsɔrp ʃən, -ˈzɔrp-, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

1. preoccupation with oneself or one's own affairs, especially to the extent that other people and things go unnoticed.

   His self-absorption was ignored by his parents, who denied the possibility of its being symptomatic of autism.

---

self-absorption British  

noun

1. preoccupation with oneself to the exclusion of others or the outside world

2. physics the process in which some of the radiation emitted by a material is absorbed by the material itself

---

Etymology

Origin of self-absorption

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

A slate of songs by Charli XCX captures Catherine’s tragic self-absorption without seeming jarringly modern.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

As a result, her plaintive wooing merely heightens the self-absorption of her egotistical love object, Narcissus.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 8, 2023

Identifying behaviors that make us recoil, like self-absorption and obliviousness, requires an ironic amount of self-reflection.

From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2023

His self-absorption is kind of the point, but it is a point stretched across 10 half-hours — more of a smear than a point.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2023

Joe breathed shallowly, afraid that any sound might drag her out of her self-absorption.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• arrogance
• egotism
• narcissism
• self-confidence
• selfishness