If you say that someone has an obsession with a person or thing, you think they are spending too much time thinking about them.
She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher. [+ with]
95% of patients know their obsessions are irrational.
Synonyms: preoccupation, thing [informal], complex, enthusiasm More Synonyms of obsession
obsession in British English
(əbˈsɛʃən)
noun
1. psychiatry
a persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness
2.
a persistent preoccupation, idea, or feeling
3.
the act of obsessing or the state of being obsessed
Derived forms
obsessional (obˈsessional)
adjective
obsessionally (obˈsessionally)
adverb
obsession in American English
(əbˈsɛʃən)
noun
1.
the act of an evil spirit in possessing or ruling a person
2.
a.
the fact or state of being obsessed with an idea, desire, emotion, etc.
b.
such a persistent idea, desire, emotion, etc., esp. one that cannot be gotten rid of by reasoning
Derived forms
obsessional (obˈsessional)
adjective
Word origin
L obsessio
Examples of 'obsession' in a sentence
obsession
This engaging show is the record of an intensely creative obsession.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
An obsession with home ownership is one of the causes of the financial crisis, he says.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
I've created this love of food that is almost an obsession.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Word lists with
obsession
Psychology terms
In other languages
obsession
British English: obsession /əbˈsɛʃən/ NOUN
If you say that someone has an obsession with someone or something, you feel they are spending too much of their time thinking about that person or thing.
...his lifelong obsession with physical fitness.
American English: obsession
Arabic: اسْتِحْوَاذُ
Brazilian Portuguese: obsessão
Chinese: 着迷
Croatian: opsesija
Czech: utkvělá myšlenka
Danish: besættelse
Dutch: obsessie
European Spanish: obsesión
Finnish: pakkomielle
French: obsession
German: Besessenheit
Greek: έμμονη ιδέα
Italian: ossessione
Japanese: 執着
Korean: 집념
Norwegian: besettelse
Polish: obsesja
European Portuguese: obsessão
Romanian: obsesie
Russian: навязчивая идея
Latin American Spanish: obsesión
Swedish: besatthet
Thai: การครอบงำจิตใจ
Turkish: takıntı
Ukrainian: одержимість
Vietnamese: sự ám ảnh
Chinese translation of 'obsession'
obsession
(əbˈsɛʃən)
n(c)
着(著)迷 (zháomí) (种(種), zhǒng)
(noun)
Definition
a persistent idea or impulse, often associated with anxiety and mental illness
yet another man with an obsession about football
Synonyms
preoccupation
Success in her field has always been her preoccupation.
thing (informal)
She's got a thing about red hair.
complex
I have never had a complex about my height.
enthusiasm
the current enthusiasm for skateboarding
addiction
She helped him fight his drug addiction.
hang-up (informal)
I don't have any hang-ups about my body.
mania
They had a mania for travelling.
phobia
She has a phobia of spiders.
fetish
I've got a bit of a shoe fetish.
fixation
Somebody has a fixation with you.
infatuation
Teenagers have their own infatuations.
ruling passion
pet subject
hobbyhorse
idée fixe (French)
It is an idée fixe of mine that humanity should be doing more to save the plant.
bee in your bonnet (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of addiction
She helped him fight his drug addiction.
Synonyms
dependence,
need,
habit,
weakness,
obsession,
attachment,
craving,
vulnerability,
subordination,
enslavement,
subservience,
overreliance
in the sense of complex
Definition
an obsession or phobia
I have never had a complex about my height.
Synonyms
obsession,
preoccupation,
phobia,
fixation,
fixed idea,
idée fixe
in the sense of enthusiasm
the current enthusiasm for skateboarding
Synonyms
interest,
passion,
rage,
hobby,
obsession,
craze,
fad (informal),
mania,
hobbyhorse
Synonyms of 'obsession'
obsession
Explore 'obsession' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of fetish
Definition
any object, activity, etc., to which one is excessively devoted
I've got a bit of a shoe fetish.
Synonyms
fixation,
obsession,
mania,
thing (informal),
idée fixe
in the sense of fixation
Definition
an obsessive interest in something
Somebody has a fixation with you.
Synonyms
obsession,
complex (informal),
addiction,
hang-up (informal),
preoccupation,
mania,
infatuation,
idée fixe,
thing (informal)
in the sense of hang-up
Definition
an emotional or psychological problem
I don't have any hang-ups about my body.
Synonyms
preoccupation,
thing (informal),
problem,
block,
difficulty,
obsession,
mania,
inhibition,
phobia,
fixation
in the sense of idée fixe
Definition
an idea with which a person is obsessed
It is an idée fixe of mine that humanity should be doing more to save the plant.
Synonyms
obsession,
thing (informal),
preoccupation,
fixation,
fixed idea,
monomania,
hobbyhorse,
bee in your bonnet
in the sense of infatuation
Teenagers have their own infatuations.
Synonyms
obsession,
thing (informal),
passion,
crush (informal),
madness,
folly,
fixation,
foolishness
in the sense of mania
Definition
an obsessional enthusiasm or liking
They had a mania for travelling.
Synonyms
obsession,
passion,
thing (informal),
desire,
rage,
enthusiasm,
craving,
preoccupation,
craze,
fad (informal),
fetish,
fixation,
partiality
in the sense of phobia
Definition
an intense and irrational fear of a given situation or thing