Words / C2

NAHS-is-iz-uh-m/ˈnɑːsɪsɪzəm/

Narcissism is excessive love of oneself or of one’s image: institutional narcissism, a streak of narcissism. Vanity is the everyday cousin; confidence is ordinary self-belief and is not a synonym. Narcissus is the myth. Do not diagnose a required byline as narcissism.

Meaning

Excessive love of oneself or of one’s image (formal / psychology).

Examples

• “Narcissism about the ranking is not a methods section.”
• “Vanity is close and everyday. Ego is looser. Confidence with a dated n is professionalism. A logo on every slide is branding; a ranking used to skip the fire door is narcissism.”

Good to know

Extreme self-regard. Everyday: vanity. Contrast: confidence (ordinary). A byline is not a personality disorder.

Near in meaning

vanity

New