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

My baseball obsession didn’t affect my grades though.

From The Wall Street Journal

David Simon, whose ruthless negotiating tactics, obsession with details and sheer force of will turned his family’s real-estate business into the largest mall owner in the country, died Sunday after a cancer diagnosis in 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Bellamy is consumed by football, and his work as Wales head coach is an obsession.

From BBC

And gradually, more terrible than the crush of bodies and the filth, the single obsession was: something to drink.

From Literature

At 22 obsession looks like hunger, but at 42 it looks like instability.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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