obsession

American  

[uhb-sesh-uhn] / əbˈsɛʃ ən /

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.

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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

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

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”; obsess ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

According to him, midlife pushes a man’s historical obsessions down one path or another: “It’s either this or World War II!”

From Salon

"He is trying to let go of those previous obsessions. He is keeping stable hours, not drinking, he has taken himself off the internet entirely."

From BBC

Helen’s variety involves New Age obsessions and enough familial alienation to keep her pregnancy secret for months.

From The Wall Street Journal

He and Roger Bull, who runs the Burton plant, had strikingly different routes to their battery obsession.

From The Wall Street Journal

The series was popular decades before true crime entertainment progressed from a quiet niche to a raging obsession.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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