Looking for quotes for people with narcissistic behavior? We have rounded up some of the best collections of narcissist quotes, sayings, and captions (with images and pictures) to help you understand, cope with and defeat narcissism in your life and relationship.
A narcissist is a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them.
Also See: Toxic People Quotes
Narcissism is extreme self-involvement to the degree that it makes a person ignore the needs of those around them.
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) involves a pattern of self-centered, arrogant thinking and behavior.
Narcissist people lack empathy and consideration for other people and have an excessive need for admiration.
They have the trait to be the most right, and the most competent; do everything their way; own everything; and control everyone.
These quotes on narcissism will help you handle a relationship involving narcissist abuse.
Also, these inspiring words will give you some insights into how to recognize who is a narcissist, and what you should do to deal with them.
Narcissist Quotes For Self-Absorbed People
- “A narcissist wants you to adopt his version of himself.” – Hart Pomerantz
- “The narcissist enjoys being looked at and not looking back.” – Mason Cooley
- “A narcissist’s excessive self-importance is a mask to hide their low self-worth.” – Ed Russo
- “Narcissism has more in common with self-hatred than with self-admiration.” – Christopher Lasch
- “If you tell a narcissist that someone is less than them in any way, they feel gratified; they feel very good about that.” – Indya Moore
- “Underneath the so-called narcissistic personality is definitely shame and the paralyzing fear of being ordinary.” – Brené Brown
- “Though they are quick to put others down, unhealthy narcissists view themselves in absolutely positive terms.” – Daniel Goleman
- “You learn a lot about people when they don’t get what they want.” – Unknown
- “Being a narcissist isn’t easy when the question is not of loving your own image, but of recreating the self through deliberate acts of alienation.” – Orlan
- “There’s a reason narcissists don’t learn from mistakes and that’s because they never get past the first step which is admitting that they made one.” – Jeffrey Kluger
- “Seeking admiration is like a drug for narcissists. In the long run it becomes difficult because others won’t applaud them, so they always have to search for new acquaintances from whom they get the next fix.” – Mitja D. Back
Famous Quotes About Narcissists
- “He says he loves you but treats you like he hates you.” – r.h.Sin
- “A narcissist is someone better looking than you are.” – Gore Vidal
- “Avoid people who blame you for wanting the same things they ask for.” – Unknown
- “No game designer ever went wrong by overestimating the narcissism of their players.” – Will Wright
- “Nobody can be kinder than the narcissist while you react to life in his own terms.” – Elizabeth Bowen
- “Narcissists would rather lie and humiliate you than to admit that they were in the wrong.” – Mitta Xinindlu
- “Withhold admiration from a narcissist and be disliked. Give it and be treated with indifference.” – Mason Cooley
- “I always call myself a recovering narcissist. I lived my life thinking everything was about me.” – Fantastic Negrito
- “When narcissists ask “how do you feel” they are actually saying “I am not feeling good, and now listen to me.” – Emma Xu
- “You can teach a narcissist to show up on time, but you can’t train them to listen once they get there.” – Dr. Ramani Durvasula
- “Narcissists burn your sanity, erode your self-esteem, and make you doubt your own judgments and perceptions.” – Unknown
- “The narcissist is like a bucket with a hole in the bottom: No matter how much you put in, you can never fill it up.” – Dr. Ramani Durvasula
- “Narcissists alone are blatant in their self-inflation and braggadocio—leavened with a necessary dose of self-deception.” – Daniel Goleman
- “No matter how socially skilled an extreme narcissist is, he has a major attachment dysfunction. The extreme narcissist is frozen in childhood.” – Samuel Lopez de Victoria
- “A narcissist’s life is really quite simple. Every conversation, every situation, every interaction, every moment has one overarching theme… “Let’s make this about me.” – Unknown
- “The ‘I’ is the ego that we must avoid at any cost, if we truly wish to be different from narcissists. Instead of using ‘I’ repeatedly, it would be wise to replace it with ‘we’.” – Mwanandeke Kindembo
- “Narcissus does not fall in love with his reflection because it is beautiful, but because it is his. If it were his beauty that enthralled him, he would be set free in a few years by its fading.” – W.H. Auden
- “Narcissism falls along the axis of what psychologists call personality disorders…but by most measures, narcissism is one of the worst, if only because the narcissists themselves are so clueless.” – Jeffrey Kluger
Karma Narcissist Quotes
- “I don’t care what you think unless it is about me.” – Kurt Cobain
- “Every narcissist is a hero and a legend in his own mind.” – Oscar Auliq-Ice
- “A narcissist will almost always dismiss your plans and ideas.” – Amanda Hope
- “The extreme sociopathic narcissist is the center of his own universe.” – Kasy Spears
- “Narcissism is voluntary blindness, an agreement not to look beneath the surface.” – Sam Keen
- “How starved you must have been that my heart became a meal for your ego.” – Amanda Torroni
- “The narcissist becomes his own world and believes the whole world is him.” – Alexander Lowen
- “Narcissists only want you to show the parts of your character that benefit them.” – Maggie Petraki
- “Indeed, narcissists will steal credit from others when something good happens and blame others when things go badly.” – Constantine Sedikides
- “It’s nearly impossible for individuals with narcissistic personality disorder to truly fall in love and build a trusting, equal partnership.” – Taylor Hench
- “You can make a deal with a narcissist, legalize it, and discover that he suddenly has changed his mind and will not honor his commitment.” – Linda Martinez-Lewi
- “Healthy levels of narcissism and self-enhancement are necessary, with a low level of self-enhancement being detrimental to our wellbeing and success.” – Theresa Jackson
- “With a narcissist, you cannot have a voice or an opinion; you must meet their demands and tolerate and accept their disrespect towards you because they say they love you.” – Ella Jayne West
Best Manipulation Narcissist Quotes
- “The lion is most handsome when looking for food.” – Rumi
- “A narcissist’s criticism is their autobiography.” – M. Wakefield
- “You consider yourself your most fascinating subject.” – Britt Bennett
- “Narcissus weeps to find that his Image does not return his love.” – Mason Cooley
- “For the most part people are not curious except about themselves.” – John Steinbeck
- “He’s satisfied with himself. If you have a soul you can’t be satisfied.” – Graham Greene
- “People, no matter the economic class, find ways to feed their narcissism.” – Lynne Tillman
- “Beware of narcissistic people. They’ll tell everyone you’re crazy, only to cover up their trickery. ” – Mitta Xinindlu
- “Ego is borne of the need to ‘prove’ oneself instead of making the choice to ‘be’ oneself.” – Craig D. Lounsbrough
- “Whoever loves becomes humble. Those who love have, so to speak, pawned a part of their narcissism.” – Sigmund Freud
Narcissist Quotes To Deal With Emotional Abuse
- “He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “Narcissists are emotional porcupines, watch out for the quills!” – Tracy A. Malone
- “The main condition for the achievement of love is the overcoming of one’s narcissism.” – Erich Fromm
- “Love doesn’t die a natural death. Love has to be killed, either by neglect or narcissism.” – Frank Salvato
- “An abuser’s psychological diagnosis isn’t the problem. Their sense of entitlement is.” – Caroline Abbott
- “Some people think that the world revolves around them but even the Sun is not the center of the Universe.” – Halle Teart
- “Where there is much pride or much vanity, there will also be much revengefulness.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
- “It is especially painful when narcissists suffer memory loss because they are losing parts of the person they love most.” – David Brooks
- “Children of narcissists learn that love is abuse. The narcissist teaches them that if someone displeases you, it is okay to harm them and call it love.” – M. Wakefield
- “Since narcissists deep down feel themselves to be faultless, it is inevitable that when they are in conflict with the world they will invariably perceive the conflict as the world’s fault.” – M. Scott Peck
- “Maybe, the lesson we can all learn from the inner sadness of a narcissist is to see through our own fabrications, our own illusions so that we can be set free to be real once more.” – Shannon L. Alder
Toxic Narcissist Quotes To Give You Wisdom
Whether you are dealing with a narcissist in your relationship, workplace or in your friend group, narcissists can be difficult to deal with.
We have a list of quotes about a narcissistic men and woman that will help you in dealing with with a narcissist.
Related: Hypocrisy Quotes
Some of these catchy quotes about narcissistic abuse are perfect to share with people with self absorbed mentality.
If you like these famous quotes then do check out our posts on lack of attention quotes and get over yourself quotes that you might relate to.
- “Jealousy runs in a narcissist’s blood.” – Unknown
- “I’m too ugly to be a narcissist.” – Mitch Albom
- “Narcissistic love is riding on the rollercoaster of disaster filled with a heart full of tears.” – Sheree Griffin
- “Narcissists, however, are similar to a spider that has built a web for its prey to bring itself.” – Mwanandeke Kindembo
- “What are narcissists looking for, after all? Just someone at their level that they can feel superior to.” – Luigina Sgarro
- “Narcissism and self-deception are survival mechanisms without which many of us might just jump off a bridge.” – Todd Solondz
- “Hate is the complement of fear and narcissists like being feared. It imbues them with an intoxicating sensation of omnipotence.” – Sam Vaknin
- “Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.” – T. S. Eliot
- “Narcissists withhold affection to punish you. Withhold attention to get revenge. And withhold an emotional empathetic response to make you feel insecure.” – Alice Little
- “Learning to spot narcissists and deal with their destructive behavior can save you the world of hurt that awaits anyone who mistakes the near enemy for a friend.” – Martha Beck
- “That which he projects ahead of him as his ideal, is merely his substitute for the lost narcissism of his childhood – the time when he was his own ideal.” – Sigmund Freud
Quotes About Narcissism to Know and Recognize
- “Half the pain in human life comes from gazing in mirrors.” – Marty Rubin
- “I like to be admired from afar, and then complimented up close.” – Gena Showalter
- “The worst lies were the lies I told myself about the lies others told me.” – Alice Little
- “Every generation narcissistically believes they are the greatest generation.” – Brien Pittman
- “Nobody gets more upset than a narcissist who is accused of something they absolutely did.” – Unknown
- “Narcissists try to destroy your life with lies because theirs can be destroyed with the truth.” – Unknown
- “Please repair your narcissism before you start loving your neighbor as yourself.” – Charles F. Glassman
- “And we need to know what it is to be human if we are to avoid becoming narcissists.” – Alexander Lowen
- “The narcissist devours people, consumes their output, and casts the empty, writhing shells aside.” – Sam Vaknin
- “I have always been suspicious of romantic love. It looks too much like a narcissism shared by two.” – Rita Mae Brown
- “Narcissists attack the things you value most because those are the things you will defend most passionately. And make no mistake, it’s intentional.” – Unknown
- “Being a control freak is a weakness, not a strength. If you can’t allow others to shine, you’re exhibiting signs of narcissism and showing a lack of self-confidence. It is isolation through ego.” – Stewart Stafford
Despite all their self-absorbed, grandiose bragging, narcissists are actually very insecure and fearful of not measuring up.
As a personality trait, narcissism can be overt, covert, antagonistic, communal, or malignant. They are inclined to dominate the ones who are part of their lives and may appear selfish, inconsiderate, and with double standards.
Manipulation and trying to grab control of everything is archetypal narcissist behavior. If you are dealing with a narcissist in your relationship then you must create boundaries and speak up for yourself.
Check out these gaslighting quotes and intimidating quotes that will encourage you to be confident and overcome intimidation with your fearless attitude.