self-admiration

A person looks at their reflection with a smile of self-admiration.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Admiration of oneself: "self-admiration" refers to the act or state of admiring or feeling pleased with oneself, often to an excessive or vain degree.
   • Self-appreciation: It can also denote a positive regard for one’s own qualities or achievements, though typically implying narcissism or conceit.

Usage Examples

• (His excessive admiration of himself annoyed others.)
• (The artist clearly felt pleased with his own appearance and skill.)

Advanced Usage

• "self-admiration as a barrier to growth": Excessive self-admiration can prevent a person from recognizing their flaws or learning from criticism.

  • Her self-admiration blinded her to the need for improvement. (Her excessive self-regard stopped her from seeing her weaknesses.)

• "pathological self-admiration": In psychology, extreme self-admiration is associated with narcissistic personality disorder.

  • The patient’s pathological self-admiration required therapeutic intervention. (His unhealthy self-focus needed professional treatment.)

Variants and Related Words

• Self-admiring (adj): characterized by or showing self-admiration.

  • His self-admiring smile annoyed everyone in the room. (His smile showed he felt very pleased with himself.)

• Self-admirer (n): a person who admires themselves excessively.

  • She is a notorious self-admirer, always talking about her own achievements. (She is someone who constantly praises herself.)

Synonyms

• Narcissism: excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one’s physical appearance.
• Vanity: excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements.
• Self-love: regard for one’s own well-being and happiness (often used neutrally, but can imply conceit).
• Conceit: excessive pride in oneself.

Related Idioms

• "In love with one’s own reflection": To be excessively self-admiring, like the mythological Narcissus.

  • He is so in love with his own reflection that he cannot see anyone else’s needs. (He is overly self-admiring.)

• "Full of oneself": Having a very high opinion of oneself; conceited.

  • She is so full of herself that she never listens to advice. (She is excessively self-admiring.)