solipsistic

adjective

so·​lip·​sis·​tic ˌsō-ləp-ˈsi-stik 

ˌsä-

: of, relating to, or characterized by solipsism or extreme egocentricity

The new punks can only rant about solipsistic concerns: themselves, their friends and girlfriends, and us, the people they think look at them funny.

—Bob Gulla

Played by a ferocious cast of nonactors, the dead-end adolescent rebels in Kids are like a wolf pack of baby sociopaths, leaping from one solipsistic sensation to the next.

—Owen Gleiberman

solipsistically

ˌsō-ləp-ˈsi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌsä-

adverb

What we say to ourselves is often quite similar to what we say to each other, because we solipsistically forget that we are in fact speaking to someone else.

—James Wood

Synonyms

• egocentric
• egoistic
• egoistical
• egomaniacal
• egotistic
• egotistical
• narcissistic
• self-absorbed
• self-centered
• self-concerned
• self-infatuated
• self-interested
• self-involved
• self-loving
• self-obsessed
• self-oriented
• self-preoccupied
• self-regarding
• self-seeking
• self-serving
• selfish

Examples of solipsistic in a Sentence

regards today's young people as solipsistic slackers who have no knowledge of or interest in the world at large

Recent Examples on the Web

The old tourist is essentially the boorish figure from the headlines—solipsistic, oriented toward the self, someone who superimposes their fantasies onto a place and then is outraged when their expectations aren’t met. —Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 30 June 2024

Jude’s cynical social perceptions and teasing sympathy toward strivers like Angela and her common-man subjects surpass the efforts of all his clueless filmmaking contemporaries, such as Wes Anderson, who packs whimsy into his Roald Dahl anthology only to create solipsistic distraction. —Armond White, National Review, 22 Mar. 2024

This assessment dovetails with a common criticism of autobiographical fiction, which holds that such work is inherently solipsistic. —Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024

Then again, there's something increasingly solipsistic about the show leaning on former cast members to host. —Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 15 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above