Definition of Obsess

1. Verb. Haunt like a ghost; pursue. "The good news will obsess her"; "Fear of illness haunts her"

Exact synonyms: Ghost, Haunt
Generic synonyms: Preoccupy
Derivative terms: Ghost, Obsession

2. Verb. Be preoccupied with something. "Sam and Sue obsess over the results of the experiment"; "She is obsessing over her weight"
Generic synonyms: Worry
Derivative terms: Obsession, Obsessive

Definition of Obsess

1. v. t. To besiege; to beset.

Definition of Obsess

1. Verb. (context: passive constructed with '''with''') To be preoccupied with a single topic or emotion. ¹

2. Verb. (transitive) To dominate the thoughts of someone. ¹

3. Verb. (intransitive colloquial construed with '''over''') To think or talk obsessively about. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Obsess

1. to dominate the thoughts of [v -ED, -ING, -ES]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Obsess

observedly
observee
observees
observer
observer's meridian
observer variation
observers
observership
observerships
observes
observest
observeth
observin'
observing
observingly
obsess (current term)
obsessed
obsesses
obsessing
obsession
obsessional
obsessional neurosis
obsessionally
obsessions
obsessive
obsessive-compulsive
obsessive-compulsive disorder
obsessive-compulsive neurosis
obsessive-compulsive personality
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Literary usage of Obsess

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Conquest of England by John Richard Green (1884)
"Durh., De obsess. Dunelm. (Twysden), p. 80. And with this loose morality went savage ... 1073 ; and, more largely, De obsess. Dunelm. (Twysden), pp. 81, 82. ..."

2. Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell: From Things Heard and Seen by Emanuel Swedenborg, John Curtis Ager (1900)
"These are the spirits that obsess man. But such spirits have been cast into ... 4793)- Of the devilish spirits who chiefly obsess the interiors of man (n. ..."

3. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"... obsess When obsess is used with a preposition, it appears as a past participle, often as part of a passive construction. It is used with with about ..."

4. The Word by Harold Waldwin Percival (1917)
"Human beings are not the only entities which nature ghosts obsess. ... Nature ghosts may obsess trees. Every tree and plant is an entity ensouled by an ..."

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