obsessive

[ uhb-ses-iv ]

adjective

1. being, pertaining to, or resembling an obsession:

   an obsessive fear of illness.

2. causing an obsession.
3. excessive, especially extremely so.

noun

1. someone who has an obsession or obsessions; a person who thinks or behaves in an obsessive manner.

obsessive

/ əbˈsɛsɪv /

adjective

1. psychiatry motivated by a persistent overriding idea or impulse, often associated with anxiety and mental illness
2. continually preoccupied with a particular activity, person, or thing

noun

1. psychiatry a person subject to obsession
2. a person who is continually preoccupied with a particular activity, person, or thing

Derived Forms

• obˈsessively, adverb
• obˈsessiveness, noun

Other Words From

• ob·sessive·ly adverb
• ob·sessive·ness noun
• nonob·sessive adjective
• nonob·sessive·ly adverb
• nonob·sessive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of obsessive¹

First recorded in 1910–15; obsess(ion) + -ive

Example Sentences

The lawyer, listed in court as Jane Roe to protect her identity, said she sought help from Federal Defender Anthony Martinez after his top deputy targeted her for unwelcome attention that the lawsuit describes as “intense and obsessive.”

From Washington Post

He realizes too late that his obsessive focus on his daughter has blinded him to the bigger issues—and that a world in which one’s own child’s future becomes more important than others’ is not one in which anyone can thrive.

From Time

This obsessive stockpiling of brick-a-brack, however, is excellent news for an array of researchers hoping to study shifting climates, evolving flora and fauna, and even mysterious human treks across ancient deserts.

From Popular-Science

Ryan spares no one — from “young, young, young” dads who put in bare-minimum parenting effort, to Jane’s imaginary husband to her own obsessive love for the musical Hamilton.

From Ozy

Rebecca is passionate, obsessive in her drive, and nobody else could have made this place become such a major tourist destination.

From Washington Blade

Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.

From The Daily Beast

McCauley may have married beneath her station, but Gordon-Levitt has obsessive fans.

From The Daily Beast

But it looks like it was created by crazed person with obsessive-compulsive behavior.

From The Daily Beast

Panicked, I reached out to hoarding experts, who often refer to any kind of obsessive digital collecting as “infomania.”

From The Daily Beast

The line between being careful about what you eat and being obsessive is difficult to distinguish.

From The Daily Beast

Throughout his literary activity it has an obsessive hold on his mind.

From Project Gutenberg

Now, however, actual and obsessive dread showed plainly on his face and in his movements.

From Project Gutenberg

It did not wear away, as he had supposed it would, but was becoming an obsessive factor in his thoughts.

From Project Gutenberg

The most common of these obsessive acts is washing with water (washing obsession).

From Project Gutenberg

There is a great deal of difference between the interest shown by normal people and the obsessive interest of scientists.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bigoted
• dogmatic
• enthusiastic
• fervent
• frenzied
• impassioned
• narrow-minded
• passionate
• rabid
• single-minded
• stubborn
• violent
• zealous