obsessed

adjective

ob·​sessed əb-ˈsest 

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 

-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

Synonyms

• happy
• hung up
• queer

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

The series’ bloated nine-episode run can be blamed almost squarely on dinner party sequences, which present Dunne as unhealthily obsessed with the Menendez brothers beyond the point of reporter-subject intrigue. —Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2024

Who’s Watching tells the unsettling story of Caleb, a metalhead loner who becomes obsessed with his co-worker, Krista. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2024

Sue lands the fitness job, and the town becomes obsessed with her. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 23 Sep. 2024

Bianca becomes obsessed with finding out the Jackal’s identity, to the detriment of her career and family. —Ashley Boucher, EW.com, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of obsess

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing obsessed

• self-obsessed