obsessive-compulsive

American  

[uhb-ses-iv-kuhm-puhl-siv] / əbˈsɛs ɪv kəmˈpʌl sɪv /

adjective

1. noting or relating to a personality characterized by perfectionism, indecision, conscientiousness, concern with detail, rigidity, and inhibition.

2. Psychiatry. noting or relating to a disorder or neurosis characterized by persistent intrusion of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or the performance of actions, as repeated hand-washing, that one is unable to stop (compulsions).

   obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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noun

1. a person having obsessive-compulsive traits.

Etymology

Origin of obsessive-compulsive

First recorded in 1925–30; obsessive ( def. ) + compulsive ( def. )

Example Sentences

Her first major contribution to the field of anxiety and fear-based disorders was in the 1970s and ’80s, with a therapy called exposure and response prevention that she used to treat patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Many neurological and psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and some forms of brain injury, can make it difficult for people to apply existing skills in new situations.

From Science Daily • Nov. 28, 2025

Tony Shalhoub suits up in brown once again as the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk in “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie,” premiering Friday on Peacock.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025

Clinicians continue to debate how best to define it, as orthorexia can share features of anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

From Slate • May 25, 2025

Even if that means getting involved in someone's obsessive-compulsive underwear disorder.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan