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obsessed

[uh b-sest]
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adjective
  1. having an obsession (usually followed by with or by): He is obsessed with eliminating guilt.
  2. having or displaying signs of an obsession: The audiophile entered the record store wearing an obsessed smile.

Origin of obsessed

First recorded in 1835–45; obsess + -ed2
Related formsself-ob·sessed, adjectiveun·ob·sessed, adjective

obsess

[uh b-ses]
verb (used with object)
  1. to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of (a person); beset, trouble, or haunt persistently or abnormally: Suspicion obsessed him.
verb (used without object)
  1. to think about something unceasingly or persistently; dwell obsessively upon something.

Origin of obsess

1495–1505; < Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidēre to occupy, frequent, besiege, equivalent to ob- ob- + -sid(ēre) combining form of sedēre to sit1
Related formsob·sess·ing·ly, adverbob·ses·sor, noun
Can be confusedabscess obsess

Synonyms

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1. possess, control, haunt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for obsessed

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Lessing is obsessed with too high an estimate of the Captivi.

    The Dramatic Values in Plautus

    Wilton Wallace Blancke

  • The thought of a future with Joe always around a corner, watching her, obsessed her.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • He was obsessed by the idea of the dignity, almost the divinity—of kingship.

  • The thing so obsessed his mind that he must speak of it, if it be only to his lackey.

    St. Martin's Summer

    Rafael Sabatini

  • Quivering with the passion that obsessed him, he stepped close up to her.

    Love-at-Arms

    Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for obsessed

obsess

verb
  1. (tr; when passive, foll by with or by) to preoccupy completely; haunt
  2. (intr; usually foll by on or over) to worry neurotically or obsessively; brood

Word Origin

C16: from Latin obsessus besieged, past participle of obsidēre, from ob- in front of + sedēre to sit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for obsessed

adj.

mid-15c., "tormented, obsessed," past participle adjective from obsess. Originally especially "possessed" by a devil, etc.

obsess

v.

c.1500, "to besiege," from Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidere "watch closely; besiege, occupy; stay, remain, abide" literally "sit opposite to," from ob "against" (see ob-) + sedere "sit" (see sedentary). Of evil spirits, "to haunt," from 1530s. Psychological sense is 20c. Related: Obsessed; obsessing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper