narcissism

UK/ˈnɑːsəˌsɪzm/US/ˈnɑɹsəˌsɪzm/

nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,773 of 15,258neutral

Narcissism is excessive admiration of yourself. Wounded narcissism.

As a clinical term it describes a personality pattern rather than mere vanity. The word is now used so loosely that psychologists have largely given up defending it.

Definitions of narcissism

1nounnarcissismExcessive admiration of yourself.B2+
“The whole memoir was narcissism dressed as reflection.”

narcissism is a trait.

Where it comes from

From Narcissus, the figure in Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection.

German
Narzissismus
English, today
narcissism

From obsolete German Narzissismus (now Narzissmus by haplology), from Narziss + ism. by surface analysis, Narciss(us) + Narcissus + ism.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

narcissism in the wild

The character of Narcissus is the origin of the term narcissism, a self-centered personality style.
Narcissus (mythology)
Since then, narcissism has become a household word; in analytic literature, given the great preoccupation with the subject, the term is used more than almost any other'.
History of narcissism
The meaning of narcissism has changed over time.
History of narcissism
Healthy narcissism is a positive sense of self that is in alignment with the greater good.
Healthy narcissism
The concept of healthy narcissism was coined by Paul Federn and gained prominence in the 1970s through the research of Heinz Kohut and Otto Kernberg.
Healthy narcissism

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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