noun
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psychiatry a persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness
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a persistent preoccupation, idea, or feeling
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the act of obsessing or the state of being obsessed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of obsession
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin obsessiōn-, stem of obsessiō “blockade, siege,” from obsess(us) “occupied, besieged” (past participle of obsidēre “to occupy, besiege”; see obsess) + -iō -ion
Explanation
If you have an obsession, you're totally fixated on something and unhealthily devoted to it. Some common obsessions include fantasy football leagues, celebrity gossip, and Elvis memorabilia. Obsession is kind of like a passion for something that crosses the line into crazy territory. Sometimes people get so preoccupied with their obsessions that it makes them anxious or emotionally unstable. If you have an obsession with the Yankees, for example, you might go to every single game, skip work to watch spring training, paper your room with Yankees posters, and write love notes to Derek Jeter.
Vocabulary lists containing obsession
Vocabulary from an excerpt from "Confessions of a 30-Year-Old Gamer," by Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates
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Derek Walcott (1930-2017) Tribute List
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The Boy Who Invented TV
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the September 17, 2025, print edition as 'How an Albino Alligator Became An Obsession Inside an AI Giant'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 16, 2025
They made it into the UK Top 100 charts in the 90s with singles like Do you believe in Love? and Obsession.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2024
Obsession is so deep and intense that it explodes everything else.
From Salon • Nov. 22, 2023
Some fans were not shocked by the plans to close Galactic Starcruiser, including Dylan Dickson, who runs the Theme Park Obsession YouTube channel.
From New York Times • May 20, 2023
Obsession, ob-sesh′un, n. persistent attack, esp. of an evil spirit upon a person: the state of being so molested from without—opp. to Possession, or control by an evil spirit from within.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
