Home US English obsessive

Definition of obsessive in English:

obsessive

Pronunciation /əbˈsesiv/ /əbˈsɛsɪv/

See synonyms for obsessive

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adjective

  • 1Of the nature of an obsession.

    ‘people dogged by obsessive jealousy’
    • ‘This game gives me a compulsion to my already obsessive nature to keep playing and to kill everyone who isn't me.’
    • ‘It is a relief, he says, to confess to the private consultant that the refuge he once sought in art for his depression and regimented obsessive nature, he now finds in the bottle.’
    • ‘I am particularly concerned about the obsessive nature of this defendant, and whether he represents a danger to women in general.’
    • ‘With his eloquence and fluent knowledge of art history, he speaks of da Vinci's obsessive nature.’
    • ‘His hair and beard were testimony to his fastidious nature and obsessive preening.’
    • ‘Delaney owns pieces of clubs and bars around the city, and has an obsessive nature.’
    • ‘The obsessive and compulsive nature of our relationship was alarming to us.’
    • ‘Wilkinson has talked greatly in this newspaper about the art of kicking and we get the impression of a rather solitary, obsessive nature: a man who wants perfection.’
    • ‘Eventually, if you persevere, the obsessive nature of the process yields unexpectedly beautiful results.’
    • ‘Up to about 1918 he painted scenes of nature that have an obsessive, macabre quality, often based on childhood memories and fantasies.’
    • ‘Unless you have an obsessive interest in the minutiae of American politics, it is unlikely that you will have heard of Mr Shrum.’
    • ‘We could've seen why Sara is so stubborn, or gotten some further insight into Hitchens' obsessive nature.’
    • ‘The amusing thing here, of course, is that his character in the film is clearly an obsessive, neurotic control freak who also teaches his cat to use a flush toilet.’
    • ‘Paul's an independent filmmaker whose unbridled ambition is rivaled only by his equally unchecked obsessive nature.’
    • ‘After decades of Marxist-Leninist education, Hungarians of all classes are showing an obsessive interest in their aristocratic forebears.’
    • ‘These have been the years in which the explosive growth of both economies leapt from being something British business thought worth watching to an obsessive interest.’
    • ‘Everyday life can be a terrifying ordeal for the autistic, who struggle to grasp what is happening around them and often retreat into ritual or obsessive behaviour.’
    • ‘Those who had watched the most television were more easily distracted and confused, more impulsive or restless, and more prone to obsessive behaviour.’
    • ‘Long ago I read he had an obsessive interest in toads.’
    • ‘It is true that the great but balding one has never been very good at multi-tasking, but that probably explains his obsessive behaviour.’
    all-consuming, consuming, compulsive, dominating, controlling, obsessional, addictive, fanatical, fanatic, neurotic, excessive, besetting, gripping, haunting, tormenting, inescapable
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    1. 1.1Affected by an obsession.
      ‘she became obsessive about her schoolwork’
      • ‘Domestic contentment has provided a secure foundation, enabling him to direct his obsessive focus on career success.’
      obsessed with, preoccupied by, preoccupied with, obsessive about, single-minded about, possessed by, gripped by, in the grip of
      View synonyms

noun

  • A person who is affected by an obsession.

    ‘an online store for garage-rock obsessives’
    • ‘Hollywood turns brides-to-be into into petty, vulgar, nitpicking obsessives.’
    • ‘All booksellers, I begin to think, are crazed obsessives.’
    • ‘Theirs is a marriage of football convenience made by football obsessives.’
    • ‘Whether playing backgammon, football or the stock market, De Boer is an obsessive.’
    • ‘In their own ways, the two of them were obsessives.’
    • ‘First, Singh is a true obsessive, a fanatic even.’
    • ‘Springfield is populated by solitary obsessives who are hopeless at coexisting with fellow citizens.’
    • ‘She is an admitted obsessive, expecting an almost religious allegiance from her dancers.’
    • ‘Even among political obsessives, there is huge uncertainty about what the new Conservatives stand for.’
    • ‘You mentioned earlier that all of your narrators are obsessives.’
    • ‘We on this side of the Chamber, however, are not single-issue obsessives.’
    • ‘These lists were complete enough to satisfy an obsessive.’
    • ‘This sort of information no doubt grips the many Van Gogh obsessives.’
    • ‘It glows a freakish, supernatural, luminous blue, for reasons none of the ice obsessives can explain to me.’
    • ‘His reputation has always been that of an obsessive, picking at detail in a way which could drive others frantic.’
    • ‘You sense that, like any obsessive, he must be tricky to handle at times.’
    • ‘Of most interest to Drake obsessives is Tow the Line, a previously unheard song discovered lurking at the end of an old master tape.’
    • ‘It is a city that caters to the obsessions of every type of obsessive.’
    • ‘The stores are those in your mall that supply stuff to body-building obsessives.’
    • ‘He is collected and quiet; totally convincing as a tight-lipped obsessive, tormented by his own demons.’