narcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of exaggerated feelings of self-importance an excessive need for admiration and a lack of empathy toward other people people with narcissistic personality disorder spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about achieving power. narcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of exaggerated feelings of self-importance an excessive need for admiration and a lack of empathy toward other people people with narcissistic personality disorder spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about achieving power.