obsessed

adjective

ob·​sessed əb-ˈsest How to pronounce obsessed (audio)
äb-
: preoccupied with or haunted by some idea, interest, etc. : being in a state of obsession
This was because on vacations my father was a man obsessed.Bill Bryson
Gatsby the obsessed lover, erecting an empire and stringing it with lights to impress a girl …Claudia Roth Pierpont
She was at once obsessed with being a good person and brutal to the people who worked for her.Rachel Abramowitz
But it seems we're becoming so obsessed with healthy eating, we are embarking on up to three different diets a year.Unity Blott
sometimes used in combination
a sports-obsessed teenager
obsessedly
əb-ˈse-səd-lē How to pronounce obsessed (audio)
-ˈsest-lē
äb-
adverb
"He wants her to be free of him and she doesn't know that she is obsessedly in love with him." Anthony Hopkins

Examples of obsessed in a Sentence

the youngster was so obsessed with video games that he had little interest in playing outside
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Some in the Mar-a-Lago orbit were obsessed with details, but, as one outside adviser put it, were more obsessed about booking a lunch or dinner, hoping to bump into the president-elect to lobby for jobs. Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 18 Jan. 2025 And these years in Philadelphia proved troubled ones: As the city’s industrial life was hollowed out, Lynch became obsessed with its factory smokestacks and pervasive smog. Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2025 Earlier this month, Shields spoke with Real Simple for their cover story and shared what it's been like raising her two daughters in a culture that seems to be so obsessed with being younger. Hannah Sacks, People.com, 14 Jan. 2025 His stepfather, Walter Eggers, was an English professor and provost at the University of New Hampshire (and a film buff) and Robert subsequently became obsessed with performing and storytelling. Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 14 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for obsessed 

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of obsess

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of obsessed was in 1888

Dictionary Entries Near obsessed

Cite this Entry

“Obsessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsessed. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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