Nearby Words

obsessive

[uhb-ses-iv] Example Sentences Origin

ob·ses·sive

[uhb-ses-iv]
adjective
1.
being, pertaining to, or resembling an obsession: an obsessive fear of illness.
2.
causing an obsession.
3.
excessive, especially extremely so.
noun
4.
someone who has an obsession or obsessions; a person who thinks or behaves in an obsessive manner.

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Obsessive is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

Origin:
1910–15; obsess(ion) + -ive

ob·ses·sive·ly, adverb
ob·ses·sive·ness, noun
non·ob·ses·sive, adjective
non·ob·ses·sive·ly, adverb
non·ob·ses·sive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To obsessive
Example Sentences
  • In her cheerfully obsessive semi-abstract drawings, and in.
  • My point is not that dogged persistence and obsessive research productivity eventually pay off.
  • Obsessive people are often difficult to work with, self absorbed and by the sound of things too tired to function properly.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
obsessive (əbˈsɛsɪv)
 
adj
1.  psychiatry motivated by a persistent overriding idea or impulse, often associated with anxiety and mental illness
2.  continually preoccupied with a particular activity, person, or thing
 
n
3.  psychiatry a person subject to obsession
4.  a person who is continually preoccupied with a particular activity, person, or thing
 
ob'sessively
 
adv
 
ob'sessiveness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

obsessive
formed 1911 from obsess + -ive. Related: Obsessively. Obsessive-compulsive is attested from 1927.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

obsessive ob·ses·sive (əb-sěs'ĭv, ŏb-)
adj.
Of, characteristic of, or causing an obsession.


ob·ses'sive n.
ob·ses'sive·ness n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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