obsession
obsession Lexical Profile
obsession Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The state of being continually preoccupied or intrusively troubled by a fixed idea, desire, or feeling.
"His growing obsession with perfectionism eventually began to hinder his productivity at work."
An idea, image, person, or thing that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.
"Collecting rare vintage watches started as a casual hobby for her, but it quickly became an expensive obsession."
In psychiatry, a persistent, unwanted, and intrusive thought, image, or urge that repeatedly enters a person's consciousness and causes significant anxiety or distress.
"Cognitive behavioral therapy helped the patient manage the intrusive obsessions associated with his disorder."
Word Nuance & Usage
In clinical psychology, an 'obsession' refers specifically to an intrusive, unwanted thought or urge that causes anxiety, whereas a 'compulsion' is the repetitive behavior or ritual performed in an attempt to relieve that anxiety.
• Rhymes for obsession
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin 'obsessio', meaning a 'blockade' or 'siege', from the verb 'obsidere' ('to sit down before' or 'besiege'). Originally referring in English to the hostile action of an evil spirit besetting a person from the outside (as opposed to 'possession' from within), it evolved by the late 19th century into its modern psychological sense of a persistent mental fixation.