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Word for someone who always seeks appreciation for his deeds or work however small or trivial it may be. If they don't get it, they will be vocal about it and ask point blank like for example "Isn't this good. You didn't say anything about it."

Here the person may not have an inflated sense of their own importance like a narcissist, but they always seek appreciation. They go into depths of detail about what and how they have done mostly to sensationalize how difficult or tough the job was so that they can get some appreciation.

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    +1 I'm surrounded by such people. Alas! This is my family. But I wouldn't call them 'Narcissistic or insecure'.
    – Nikki
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 6:53
  • Tu m'as vu, Maman !...
    – Drew
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 20:26

6 Answers 6

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The closest I can come up with is a compliment seeker or a compliment whore, though I can't find a definition that applies to your case. The main difference being that the compliment seekers seem to go about it in a roundabout way, not 'point blank', as you put it.

You could also simply say that the person is fishing for compliments, though even that doesn't necessarily imply directness.

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  • or 'approval junkie'...
    – EleventhDoctor
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 14:40
  • ... or even 'feedback vampire' :-)
    – EleventhDoctor
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 14:41
  • 'Feedback vampire' is gold :D
    – Tushar Raj
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 14:44
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An insecure person:

  • Insecure people have little confidence and are uncertain about their own abilities or if other people really like them:
    • I wonder what it was about her upbringing that made her so insecure. He still feels insecure about his ability to do the job.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

A narcissist:

  • The Narcissistic Personality occurs where a person has an inflated sense of their own importance and seeks to gain recognition of this from others.

like in:

  • Seeking constant admiration, praise and approval.

(changingminds.org)

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  • narcissist is close but not exactly the word for the case in point. It's more like who has "has an inflated sense of their own importance". Here the person may not have an inflated sense but constantly seeks appreciation.
    – ontherocks
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 6:27
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A good name for someone who wants to be always recognised effusively would be “ glory hound”

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    Please add a reference from a reputable source to back up your answer.
    – CJ Dennis
    Commented Mar 2, 2020 at 10:16
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I can think of a word sycophant:

a person who acts obsequiously towards someone important in order to gain advantage. synonyms: toady, creep, crawler, fawner, flatterer, flunkey, truckler, groveller, doormat, lickspittle, kowtower, obsequious person, minion, hanger-on, leech, puppet, spaniel, Uriah Heep.

Or attention junkie which is milder that attention whore in other answer.

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  • I think sycophants are the people with whom attention junkies who have power, money or influence would surround themselves. I don't see the sycophants as necessarily needing the compliments themselves. I like attention junkie though
    – BoldBen
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 14:53
  • But it's one-word-phrase. So who likes best.
    – Vladimir Markiev
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 20:08
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How about needy?

OD:

needy(of a person) needing emotional support; insecure.

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Approbation lust, wanting glory or praise in its many forms,complements, recognition of their success, a desire for people to seek advice from them due to there wisdom and experience. This as defined may have many motivations some due to a time when they did achieve such status at one time and the impression it made on them was of such import that they didn't want to go without ever more. lack of such self esteem, that they require admiration and need to be reminded, also it may be due to pride and a sense that others are not in their class. We can't know why. it just is one of the endless peculiarities of personality that man is capable of and for he who expresses any of these varieties shows how sensitive mankind is in relation to nature, society and the numerous situations to which he is exposed. According to Egyptologists it seems many pharaohs needed praise to such an extent that one of the greatest monuments ever constructed by man continues to be herald it across time.

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