Meaning & use
narcissism
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Meanings
noununcountabledisapproving
Excessive interest in and admiration of yourself, your looks or your abilities, with little care for other people.
Grammar: No plural and no a: his narcissism annoyed everyone.
Patterns
- narcissism in someone
- a sign of narcissism
His constant selfies and bragging were a sign of narcissism.
Critics accused the star of narcissism after she refused to share the stage.
Narcissism can make it hard to listen to other people.
noununcountabletechnical
In psychology, a personality trait or pattern marked by a strong need for admiration and a weak ability to feel empathy.
Grammar: Used as a technical term; clinical cases use the full name narcissistic personality disorder.
Patterns
- traits of narcissism
- research on narcissism
The researcher studied narcissism in young adults and how it relates to social media.
Psychologists distinguish healthy self-esteem from narcissism.
Therapy may help people with high levels of narcissism understand how others feel.
Common combinations
- pure narcissism
- Posting a photo of every meal seemed like pure narcissism to him.
- a sign of narcissism
- Refusing ever to apologize can be a sign of narcissism.
- malignant narcissism
- The author described the leader as showing malignant narcissism.
- accuse someone of narcissism
- Her brother accused her of narcissism.
- cultural narcissism
- Some writers blame social media for a wave of cultural narcissism.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vanity
- Vanity is mainly about being proud of appearance, while narcissism suggests a deeper self-focus and lack of care for others.
- egotism
- Egotism means talking and thinking too much about yourself, whereas narcissism adds a craving for admiration.
- conceit
- Conceit is an everyday word for having too high an opinion of yourself, and it sounds less psychological than narcissism.
- self-absorption
- Self-absorption means being so wrapped up in yourself that you ignore others, but it does not necessarily involve wanting admiration.
Opposites
Word family
- narcissist noun
- a person who shows narcissism
- narcissistic adjective
- showing excessive self-admiration
- Narcissus proper noun
- the Greek myth figure who fell in love with his own reflection
Commonly confused: narcissism or self-confidence?
narcissism vs self-confidence
Self-confidence is a healthy belief in your abilities, while narcissism involves needing admiration and ignoring others.
Practice
Her friends were tired of her ___: every conversation turned into a story about how wonderful she was.
Choose one answer.
Narcissism means excessive self-admiration, which matches turning every conversation to herself. Humility is the opposite and would not annoy her friends in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “narcissism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.