obsessed

adjective

ob·​sessed əb-ˈsest How to pronounce obsessed (audio)
äb-
: preoccupied with or haunted by some idea, interest, etc. : being in a state of obsession
This was because on vacations my father was a man obsessed.Bill Bryson
Gatsby the obsessed lover, erecting an empire and stringing it with lights to impress a girl …Claudia Roth Pierpont
She was at once obsessed with being a good person and brutal to the people who worked for her.Rachel Abramowitz
But it seems we're becoming so obsessed with healthy eating, we are embarking on up to three different diets a year.Unity Blott
sometimes used in combination
a sports-obsessed teenager
obsessedly
əb-ˈse-səd-lē How to pronounce obsessed (audio)
-ˈsest-lē
äb-
adverb
"He wants her to be free of him and she doesn't know that she is obsessedly in love with him." Anthony Hopkins

Examples of obsessed in a Sentence

the youngster was so obsessed with video games that he had little interest in playing outside
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The darkly comedic play by Julia Randall follows Ella as the titular character, a wealthy young woman who becomes obsessed with the online attention her late classmate receives after her sudden death. Raven Brunner, People.com, 19 June 2025 Really obsessed with both their albums, but the new one [2025’s Cotton Crown] especially captured our attention in a major way. Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 18 June 2025 Dever became obsessed with alternative therapies after her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025 But once upon a time, before teams became obsessed with projections and modeling, the most effective way to evaluate a trade was by asking the question: Who got the best player in the deal? Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for obsessed

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of obsess

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of obsessed was in 1888

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Obsessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsessed. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

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