Crossword Genius

An extremely self-conscious person (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

egoist

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'an extremely self-conscious person' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'self-conscious person' is the wordplay.
'self' becomes 'ego' (synonyms).
'conscious person' becomes 'ist' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'ego'+'ist'='EGOIST'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for egoist that I've seen before include "Self-seeker" , "ill with him to think of others" , "Narcissist" , "It goes around with conceited fellow" , "A seld-centred, conceited person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.
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