obsess

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ob·sess

(əb-sĕs′, ŏb-)

v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es

v. tr.

To preoccupy the mind of (someone) excessively.

v. intr.

To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic: The conference organizer obsessed over the smallest of details.

[Latin obsidēre, obsess-, to beset, occupy : ob-, on; see ob- + sedēre, to sit; see sed- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

ob·ses′sor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

obsess

(əbˈsɛs)

1. (tr; when passive, foll by with or by) to preoccupy completely; haunt

2. (intr; usually foll by on or over) to worry neurotically or obsessively; brood

[C16: from Latin obsessus besieged, past participle of obsidēre, from ob- in front of + sedēre to sit]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ob•sess

(əbˈsɛs)
v.t.

1. to dominate or excessively preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of; haunt.

v.i.

2. to think about something unceasingly.

[1495–1505; < Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidēre to occupy, frequent, besiege =ob- ob- + -sidēre, comb. form of sedēre to sit]

ob•sess′ing•ly, adv.

ob•ses′sor, n.

obsess

Past participle: obsessed
Gerund: obsessing

Imperative
obsess
obsess

Present
I obsess
you obsess
he/she/it obsesses
we obsess
you obsess
they obsess

Preterite
I obsessed
you obsessed
he/she/it obsessed
we obsessed
you obsessed
they obsessed

Present Continuous
I am obsessing
you are obsessing
he/she/it is obsessing
we are obsessing
you are obsessing
they are obsessing

Present Perfect
I have obsessed
you have obsessed
he/she/it has obsessed
we have obsessed
you have obsessed
they have obsessed

Past Continuous
I was obsessing
you were obsessing
he/she/it was obsessing
we were obsessing
you were obsessing
they were obsessing

Past Perfect
I had obsessed
you had obsessed
he/she/it had obsessed
we had obsessed
you had obsessed
they had obsessed

Future
I will obsess
you will obsess
he/she/it will obsess
we will obsess
you will obsess
they will obsess

Future Perfect
I will have obsessed
you will have obsessed
he/she/it will have obsessed
we will have obsessed
you will have obsessed
they will have obsessed

Future Continuous
I will be obsessing
you will be obsessing
he/she/it will be obsessing
we will be obsessing
you will be obsessing
they will be obsessing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been obsessing
you have been obsessing
he/she/it has been obsessing
we have been obsessing
you have been obsessing
they have been obsessing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been obsessing
you will have been obsessing
he/she/it will have been obsessing
we will have been obsessing
you will have been obsessing
they will have been obsessing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been obsessing
you had been obsessing
he/she/it had been obsessing
we had been obsessing
you had been obsessing
they had been obsessing

Conditional
I would obsess
you would obsess
he/she/it would obsess
we would obsess
you would obsess
they would obsess

Past Conditional
I would have obsessed
you would have obsessed
he/she/it would have obsessed
we would have obsessed
you would have obsessed
they would have obsessed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	obsess - haunt like a ghost; pursue; "Fear of illness haunts her" ghost, haunt preoccupy - engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively; "His work preoccupies him"; "The matter preoccupies her completely--she cannot think of anything else"
	2.	obsess - be preoccupied with something; "She is obsessing over her weight" worry - be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy; "I worry about my job"

obsess

verb preoccupy, dominate, grip, absorb, possess, consume, rule, haunt, plague, hound, torment, bedevil, monopolize, be on your mind, engross, prey on your mind, be uppermost in your thoughts Thoughts of revenge obsessed him.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

obsess

verb

1. To dominate the mind or thoughts of:

possess.

2. To come to mind continually:

haunt, torment, trouble, weigh on (or upon).

Translations

يَتَسَلَّط على

besætte

verfolgen

obsesionar

obséder obnubiler

megszállott: vmi megszállottja

heltaka

ossessionare perseguitare

apsėstasapsėstumasįkyri mintisįkyriailiguistai

apsēstpārņemt

besette

posadnúť

aklından çıkmamakzihnini meşgul etmek

使困扰使着迷使迷恋

obsess

[əbˈses]

A. VT → obsesionar

B. VI → obsesionarse (about, over con, por)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

obsess

[əbˈsɛs]

vt → obséder
to be obsessed by sb/sth → être obsédé par qn/qch

vi → être en proie à des obsessions
to obsess about sth → se tourmenter pour qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

obsess

vt to be obsessed by or with somebody/something → von jdm/etw besessen sein; to be obsessed about something → von etw besessen sein; to be obsessed about doing something → davon besessen sein, etw zu tun; something obsesses somebody → jd ist von etw besessen; his one obsessing thought → der ihn ständig verfolgende Gedanke; don’t become obsessed by it → lass das nicht zum Zwang or zur Manie werden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

obsess

[əbˈsɛs] vt → ossessionare
to be obsessed by or with sb/sth → essere ossessionato/a da or con qn/qc

obsess

(əbˈses) verb

to occupy (someone's mind) too much. He is obsessed by the fear of death.

obˈsession (-ʃən) noun

an obsession about motorbikes.

obˈsessional (-ʃə-) adjective

obsessional behaviour.

obˈsessive (-siv) adjective

obsessive about cleanliness.

obˈsessively adverb

obˈsessiveness noun

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

But to my practical mind it remained to be seen whether the passion which obsessed him would be justified of its works.

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He was completely obsessed by one persistent thought.

View in context

This thought obsessed me every night of my life for years--if only I could find that one human and be saved!

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I now I'm making a fool of myself, but the thing has obsessed me.

View in context

Gloom still obsessed him, but blended now with remorse.

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They were obsessed by two thoughts--what they might find and the necessity for aiding in the rescue of their rivals.

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For of all the fancies that had obsessed my moonstruck brain, this was surely the maddest.

View in context

Edgar Caswall, who was now wholly obsessed by the kite and all belonging to it, found a distinct resemblance between that intermittent rumble and the snake-charming music produced by the pigeons flying through the dry reeds.

View in context

Elijah's soul had been seared by famine, and he was obsessed by fear of repeating the experience.

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Some maundering fancy of going out with the tide suddenly obsessed me.

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The horrid picture of anarchy was held always before their child's eyes until they, in turn, obsessed by this cultivated fear, held the picture of anarchy before the eyes of the children that followed them.

View in context

She became obsessed with the thought that it wanted but a courageous act on her part to make all of her association with people some- thing quite different, and that it was possible by such an act to pass into a new life as one opens a door and goes into a room.