Meaning & use
egocentric
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Meanings
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Concerned mainly with your own wishes and viewpoint, and paying little attention to what others need or feel.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: an egocentric boss, he is egocentric.
His egocentric attitude made group work difficult.
She is so egocentric that she never asks about anyone else's day.
The egocentric host spoke only about himself all evening.
adjectivecomparabletechnical
In child psychology, describing a stage of thinking in which a young child cannot yet see things from another person's point of view.
Grammar: A neutral, technical use, mainly about early childhood.
Four-year-olds are often egocentric and assume everyone sees what they see.
The study measured egocentric thinking in toddlers.
Word forms
| comparative | more egocentric |
|---|---|
| superlative | most egocentric |
Common combinations
- egocentric behavior
- Teachers discouraged egocentric behavior in the classroom.
- egocentric view
- An egocentric view of the world can harm friendships.
- egocentric child
- An egocentric child may not share toys easily.
- deeply egocentric
- The artist was deeply egocentric but also generous.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-centered
- Self-centered is the everyday word with the same meaning, and it is more common in conversation.
- selfish
- Selfish stresses unfairly taking what you want, whereas egocentric stresses seeing everything from your own view.
- egotistical
- Egotistical suggests boasting and an inflated opinion of yourself, not just a narrow viewpoint.
- narcissistic
- Narcissistic suggests admiration of yourself and can be clinical.
Opposites
Word family
- ego noun
- your sense of self
- egocentrism noun
- the habit of seeing everything from your own view
- egocentricity noun
- the quality of being egocentric
- egocentrically adverb
- in an egocentric way
Commonly confused: egocentric or eccentric? egocentric or egotistical?
egocentric vs eccentric
Eccentric means odd or unconventional, while egocentric means focused on yourself.
egocentric vs egotistical
Egotistical includes boastfulness; egocentric need not.
Practice
A small child who assumes everyone sees the same picture she does is showing ___ thinking.
Choose one answer.
Egocentric is the psychology term for being unable yet to take another person's viewpoint. Eccentric means odd, which sounds similar but does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “egocentric”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.