Narcissistics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Relating to or characterized by excessive self-admiration and an inflated sense of one's own importance; exhibiting traits of vanity, self-centeredness, and a strong need for admiration; describing behavior focused on oneself at the expense of others
2. Pertaining to the quality of having an extreme preoccupation with oneself and one’s appearance; demonstrating arrogance, a lack of empathy towards others, and a desire for constant praise; involving self-absorbed or egotistical attitudes
3. Denoting a tendency to regard oneself with undue esteem and to seek excessive approval and attention from others; manifesting as self-focused attitudes that disregard the feelings or needs of others; identifying traits involving grandiosity and self-importance in behavior and thought

Etymology: "Narcissistics" is the plural of "narcissistic", which is the adjective "narcissist" plus the suffix "-ic", meaning relating to or characterised by. The noun "narcissist" itself comes from "Narcissus", the youth of Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and pined away beside it. The "-ic" suffix passed into English through Old French and Latin, where "-icus" formed adjectives from nouns, and it is one of many such endings that English adopted from classical languages. Used as a plural noun, "narcissistics" names the self-admiring traits themselves, treating each quality of a self-absorbed personality as a separate item. The form is rare, since the adjective "narcissistic" and the noun "narcissism" are far more common in everyday speech.

Synonyms: self-centeredness, egotism, self-absorption, self-admiration, vanity

Antonyms: selflessness, humility, modesty, altruism, self-denial