narcissistic
adjective
nar·cis·sis·tic
ˌnär-sə-ˈsi-stik 
: of, relating to, or characterized by narcissism: such as
a
: extremely self-centered with an exaggerated sense of self-importance : marked by or characteristic of excessive admiration of or infatuation with oneself
a narcissistic personality
He was a very narcissistic man, not too concerned with the world.—
Oliver Sacks
Oliver SacksBut when a mother's narcissistic needs are so great that she cannot relate to her child as he really is, she loves her child as a self-object—that is, as someone put on this earth to meet her needs.—Sue Erikson Bloland
see also narcissistic personality disorder
Sue Erikson Bloland
b
: displaying or marked by excessive concern with one's own physical appearance
… she describes the bind created for women by the judgment that a woman preoccupied with her looks is narcissistic and a woman who is not is unfeminine.—Carol Gilligan
Carol GilliganOur narcissistic culture has turned us into a nation of body-image "junkies" using everything in our power to carve, reshape, remold, and recast our bodies' natural shapes and processes so that they are better fitted to our desires.—Andrew Kimbrell
Andrew KimbrellExamples of narcissistic in a Sentence
trying to raise the social consciousness of the normally narcissistic Hollywood community
Recent Examples on the Web
In the first season, tThe drama based on James Patterson’s best-selling novel series saw Cross pursue a narcissistic serial killer played by Ryan Eggold and uncover Miss Nancy as an assumed stalker endangering his family.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2025
Cursed to always be the back-up singer, Dixie is narcissistic, ruthless and driven by revenge.
—Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 7 Oct. 2025
Your narcissistic side is really lapping it up, but also the humble side, or the fake humble side, is like, ‘Oh no.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Oct. 2025
In order to not be fooled by narcissistic kindness, Sarkis encourages people to view one-off good deeds in the context of someone's overall behavior.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
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Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2025
Cursed to always be the back-up singer, Dixie is narcissistic, ruthless and driven by revenge.
—Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 7 Oct. 2025
Your narcissistic side is really lapping it up, but also the humble side, or the fake humble side, is like, ‘Oh no.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Oct. 2025
In order to not be fooled by narcissistic kindness, Sarkis encourages people to view one-off good deeds in the context of someone's overall behavior.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for narcissistic
Cite this Entry
“Narcissistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/narcissistic. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
narcissistic
adjective
nar·cis·sis·tic
ˌnär-sə-ˈsis-tik
: of, relating to, or characterized by narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder
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