obsessive

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/əbˈsɛsɪv/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ɑbˈsɛsɪv/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(əb ses′iv)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ob•sess•ive /ɑbˈsɛsɪv/USA pronunciation  adj. 
  1. of, being, or resembling an obsession:an obsessive fear of disease.
  2. possessed or tending to be possessed by obsessions:an obsessive personality.
ob•sess•ive•ly, adv. See -sess-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ob•ses•sive  (əb ses′iv),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. being, pertaining to, or resembling an obsession:an obsessive fear of illness.
  2. causing an obsession.
  3. excessive, esp. extremely so.

n. 
  1. someone who has an obsession or obsessions;
    a person who thinks or behaves in an obsessive manner.
  • obsess(ion) + -ive 1910–15
ob•ses′sive•ly, adv. 
ob•ses′sive•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
obsessive /əbˈsɛsɪv/ adj
  1. motivated by a persistent and unwanted overriding idea or impulse, often associated with anxiety and mental illness
  2. continually preoccupied with a particular activity, person, or thing
 n also called: obsessionist, obsessor
  1. a person subject to obsession
  2. a person who is continually preoccupied with a particular activity, person, or thing
obˈsessively adv obˈsessiveness n
'obsessive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Asperger syndrome - bug - bugbear - completist - control freak - egomania - hobbyhorse - obsessive-compulsive disorder - Prader-Willi syndrome - prey - superstition - complex - compulsive - coprolalia - coprophilia - fanatic - logophobia - magical thinking - me - minimalism - monomania - obsessive-compulsive - OCD - painstaking - ritual - unnatural - verbigeration

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