preoccupy
verb (used with object)
to absorb or engross to the exclusion of other things.
had preoccupied
-
past perfectof preoccupy.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
There was relief, too, inside Fox, as it was spared more of what one employee called “a traumatic” episode that had preoccupied Fox’s rank and file.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 19, 2023
The idea of obtaining the Eichmann tapes had preoccupied him ever since, he said.
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2022
No one in my family had ever seen the video, but my Jewish roots had preoccupied me for years.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2016
Carter was also eager to de-emphasize the Soviet-American relationship, which he felt had preoccupied postwar American diplomacy.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dobzhansky’s final flourish was to solve the “mystery of mysteries” that had preoccupied Darwin: the origin of species.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
