OBSESS - 11 definitions found
obsess v 1: haunt like a ghost; pursue; "Fear of illness haunts her" [syn: haunt, obsess, ghost] 2: be preoccupied with something; "She is obsessing over her weight" obsess bosses obsess 1503, from L. obsessus, pp. of obsidere "besiege, occupy," lit. "sit opposite to," from ob "against" + sedere "sit." Obsession was originally "the act of besieging;" meaning "persistent influence or idea" is first recorded 1680. Obsessive (adj.) formed 1911. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) obsess verb Etymology: Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidēre to frequent, besiege, from ob- against + sedēre to sit — more at ob-, sit Date: 1531 transitive verb to haunt or excessively preoccupy the mind of <was obsessed with the idea> intransitive verb to engage in obsessive thinking ; become obsessed with an idea Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary obsess (obsesses, obsessing, obsessed) If something obsesses you or if you obsess about something, you keep thinking about it and find it difficult to think about anything else. A string of scandals is obsessing America... She stopped drinking but began obsessing about her weight... I started obsessing that Trish might die. VERB: V n, V about/over n, V that English Explanatory Dictionary obsess əbˈses v.tr. (often in passive) preoccupy, haunt; fill the mind of (a person) continually. øøobsessive adj. & n. obsessively adv. obsessiveness n. [L obsidere obsess- (as OB-, sedere sit)] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Obsess \Ob*sess"\, v. t. [L. obsessus, p. p. of obsidere to besiege; ob (see Ob-) + sedere to sit.] To besiege; to beset. --Sir T. Elyot. English Explanatory Dictionary (Synonyms) obsess əbˈses v. haunt, harass, plague, bedevil, torment, take over, preoccupy, dominate, control, grip, possess, hold: He was obsessed by the conviction that he could design a successful flying machine. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 77 Moby Thesaurus words for "obsess": absorb, absorb the attention, arrest, be remembered, bedevil, beset, bewitch, burden, catch, charm, compel, control, crush one, demonize, devilize, diabolize, dominate, drive, enchant, engage, engage the attention, engage the mind, engage the thoughts, engross, engross the mind, engross the thoughts, enthrall, exercise, exhaust, fascinate, grab, grip, hant, harass, haunt, haunt the memory, hex, hold, hold spellbound, hold the interest, hoodoo, hypnotize, immerse, impel, infatuate, involve, involve the interest, jinx, make an impression, mesmerize, monopolize, never be forgotten, not let go, occupy, occupy the attention, oppress, overlook, penetrate, plague, possess, preoccupy, prey on, rankle, sink in, spellbind, spook, take over, take up, tire, torment, voodoo, wear out, wear upon one, weary, weigh upon, weight down, witch |
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