out of curiosity, is it okay to use the term narcissistic to describe someone? I know it’s not right to call someone a narcissist unless they actually do have npd, but doesn’t everyone have narcissistic traits?
I mean. Personally I wouldn't. There's like infinitely better terms to use. Yes, everyone has narcissistic traits, to be human is to be somewhat narcissistic, however calling someone narcissistic is kinda just inherently linked to a preconceived notion of a bad person which just adds to the stigma of NPD in general.
It's one thing for like a professional psychologist to make a professional observation to say, this person (or character) exhibits narcissistic traits, it's another to use it in casual speak or to describe someone when you're not a professional. If you're not a psychologist or have NPD I prefer to leave it on the high shelf until society as a whole knows that narcissists aren't inherently bad.
Narcissistic traits and any variation of the word has bad connotations no matter how you phrase it and people will get an idea based on NPD stereotypes, so generally I avoid it. Unless it's being used by professionals, I always side eye others who use it to describe a character (exception for those with npd headcannoning characters n stuff), person, etc. since I assume they'll mean it as an insult or they're thinking of what's essentially a caricature of the disorder.
Some alternative terms to use for certain traits of narcissism:
But at the end of the day, you can use it if you really want, I'm not gonna be able to stop you nor is it worth my time. This is all just my 2 cents. I personally wouldn't, but you're a person so you can come to your own conclusions based on what I've said.