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

Clinically, the presentation aligns with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders: persistent intrusive thoughts, emotional dysregulation and impaired functioning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

She weaned him off clozapine entirely in 2018 and Cauchi also stopped taking medication to treat his obsessive-compulsive disorder the year after, she said.

From BBC • May 30, 2025

Last year, he starred in the romantic drama “Turtles All the Way Down,” the film adaptation of John Green’s young adult novel that explores the complexities of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 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

I should also confess that I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive anyway.

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson