obsession

American  

[uhb-sesh-uhn] / əbˈsɛʃ ən /

noun

• obsessions
  plural

1. the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

2. the idea, image, desire, feeling, etc., itself.

3. the state of being obsessed.

4. the act of obsessing.

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obsession British  

/ əbˈsɛʃən /

noun

1. psychiatry a persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness

2. a persistent preoccupation, idea, or feeling

3. the act of obsessing or the state of being obsessed

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obsession Cultural  

1. A preoccupation with a feeling or idea. In psychology, an obsession is similar to a compulsion.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonobsession
  noun
• self-obsession
  noun
• nonobsessional
  adjective
• obsessional
  adjective
• obsessionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• obsessions
  plural

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

obsession obsessions

Now a full member, he’s unleashed a new layer of invention, reflecting Mastodon’s obsession with a certain kind of mid-’70s prog rock.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Once he had his foot in the door as an intern, success became an obsession, with bonuses becoming "a way of gauging how wonderfully successful a human being I was".

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

There are two tracks to Mr. Richardson’s biography, his triple subtitle notwithstanding: the hero—molded by Alexander’s “childhood obsession with Homer”—and the man.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

And yet, Sephora and other cosmetic retailers love that their obsession with anti-aging begins in their teens and 20s.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

They were my latest obsession and I thought he'd like them, too.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

There are those about unusual obsessions, like the Ford executive who kept score of colleagues’ verbal flubs, and odd jobs, like the hairy Utah men benefiting from a booming market for Jesus models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

This immersive installation, like the rest of the Lucas—built not on aesthetics but on nostalgia and spectacle—confuses a collector’s obsessions with genuine vision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

This isn’t all that uncommon: Trends crop up in filmmaking all the time, as potential narratives emerge from real-life events and cultural obsessions.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

In “The Dreamy Side,” Molina traces the roots of these cross-cultural musical obsessions to the early R&B scene in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

Besides the number 7, I have two other major obsessions.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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Related Words

• compulsion
• delusion
• enthusiasm
• fascination
• infatuation
• mania
• passion
• phobia
• preoccupation

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