preoccupied
completely engrossed in thought; absorbed.
previously occupied; taken; filled.
Biology. already used as a name for some species, genus, etc., and not available as a designation for any other.
Origin of preoccupied
1Other words for preoccupied
1 | busy; concentrating |
Other words from preoccupied
- pre·oc·cu·pied·ly, adverb
- pre·oc·cu·pied·ness, noun
- un·pre·oc·cu·pied, adjective
Words Nearby preoccupied
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use preoccupied in a sentence
Zoologist Desmond Morris, on the other hand, was initially more preoccupied with sex than violence or male-male bonding.
Generations of men would have the culture believe that they’re far too preoccupied with business, government, technology and other so-called serious pursuits to involve themselves with the flourishes of fashion.
Why the tailored suit — not ruffles and lace — became synonymous with power | Robin Givhan | May 21, 2021 | Washington PostLater, as the scope of his research widened, he became more and more preoccupied with the question of biodiversity on Earth and the human impact on it.
Timeless meditations on Earth’s fragility, and the damage humans do | Balaji Ravichandran | May 14, 2021 | Washington PostKids are very preoccupied about their appearance at this age, and there’s a lot of pressure to have peer approval, so there are risks there.
I’m very much preoccupied with the issue of race and ethnicity and discrimination and how that impacts health outcomes and mental health outcomes among underserved populations.
How To Get Vaccines To People Who Aren’t Going Out Of Their Way To Get Them | Anna Rothschild | March 22, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
As he tried to make his way through a crowd of mourners late last month, he looked preoccupied and even disoriented.
What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq | IranWire | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTFoxx is hopeful that young people are evolving past the point of being preoccupied with race.
Your fiction is preoccupied with the past—even the contemporary stories have an aura of looking backward.
Now, few filmmakers are as preoccupied with time as Richard Linklater.
The Making of ‘Boyhood’: Richard Linklater’s 12-Year Journey to Create An American Masterpiece | Marlow Stern | July 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLiving vicariously through his teammates was better than being home, preoccupied each day with his eroding strength.
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address | Ray Robinson | July 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe was still preoccupied, still she seemed to see Hamza running beside her towards the mountains, praying among the rocks.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensShe was like a woman who is preoccupied with something, and perhaps annoyed by an unwelcome guest.
Camille (La Dame aux Camilias) | Alexandre Dumas, filsThere was something very strange and preoccupied in his movements, Beardsley thought, more than a mere tiredness.
We're Friends, Now | Henry HasseThey swarmed with people of all nationalities, who looked very much preoccupied, and as if in search of something.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste TchaikovskyFor weeks thereafter he would be like the ghost of a man in the house, haggard and silent and preoccupied.
Love's Pilgrimage | Upton Sinclair
British Dictionary definitions for preoccupied
/ (priːˈɒkjʊˌpaɪd) /
engrossed or absorbed in something, esp one's own thoughts
already or previously occupied
biology (of a taxonomic name) already used to designate a genus, species, etc
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
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