MEANING
To occupy someone’s thoughts persistently and intrusively.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- obsess over details
On the page
The missing hour obsessed him.
She obsessed over the locked drawer.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- obsess
- Past tense
- obsessed
- Past participle
- obsessed
- Present participle
- obsessing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- obsess
- Present continuous
- am/is/are obsessing
- Present perfect
- have/has obsessed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been obsessing
- Past
- obsessed
- Past continuous
- was/were obsessing
- Past perfect
- had obsessed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been obsessing
- Future
- will obsess
- Future continuous
- will be obsessing
- Future perfect
- will have obsessed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been obsessing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Forms: obsess; obsesses; obsessed; obsessed; obsessing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: obsesses.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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