obsession

[uhb-sesh-uhn]

noun

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. obsessed.

4. the act of obsessing.

obsession

/ 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

obsession

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of obsession¹

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”; obsess ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

No one at Anthropic seems to remember how the obsession began.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These obsessions are not uncommon, said Paul Robbins, dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This gave way to a "shoe obsession" once Snoeijs' surgery produced positive results and she was able to buy high-street footwear.

Read more on BBC

He added that the Ethiopian ruling party's "obsession" with the Red Sea and River Nile was "bizarre and mind-boggling by all standards".

Read more on BBC

But none of this would happen if India, and Indians, could wean themselves off their obsession with cough syrups.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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