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n. 1. Excessive preoccupation with or admiration of oneself. See Synonyms at conceit. 2. A personality disorder characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance, need for admiration, and lack of empathy. Also called narcissistic personality disorder. 3. Pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of one's own body or self, considered in psychoanalytic theory to be a fixation on or a regression to an infantile stage of development. [After NARCISSUS.] narcis·sist n. nar′cis·sistic adj. nar′cis·sisti·cal·ly adv. |
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