obsess

[uh b-ses] /əbˈsɛs/

verb (used with object)

to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of (a person); beset, trouble, or haunt persistently or abnormally:

Suspicion obsessed him.

verb (used without object)

to think about something unceasingly or persistently; dwell obsessively upon something.

Origin

1495-1505; < Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidēre to occupy, frequent, besiege, equivalent to ob- ob- + -sid(ēre) combining form of sedēre to sit

Related forms

obsessingly, adverb

obsessor, noun

Can be confused

abscess, obsess.

Synonyms

1. possess, control, haunt.

Examples from the web for obsess

Almost all of us can find something to obsess about at a restaurant.
We stew and obsess and make tiny things into giant ones.
They obsess over an occupation that should have been ended decades ago.
More than biology, their designs suggest the work of an artist left to obsess among tiny forms.
Please try to obsess a little less on your profits, and consider the well-being of your fellow human beings.
But that's the difference between people who obsess about fashion and people who obsess about food.
She begins to obsess about the possibility of some kind of fatal personal shortcoming.
So a lot of people really obsess over the rain, because it can mean the difference between a good year and starvation.
How anyone can obsess about the place beggars belief.
Both countries obsess over it and have nukes aimed at each other.

British Dictionary definitions for obsess

obsess

/əbˈsɛs/

verb

(transitive; when passive, foll by with or by) to preoccupy completely; haunt

(intransitive; usually foll by on or over) to worry neurotically or obsessively; brood

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for obsess

c.1500, "to besiege," from Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidere "watch closely; besiege, occupy; stay, remain, abide" literally "sit opposite to," from ob "against" (see ob-) + sedere "sit" (see sedentary). Of evil spirits, "to haunt," from 1530s. Psychological sense is 20c. Related: Obsessed; obsessing.