obsessive

adjective

ob·​ses·​sive äb-ˈse-siv 

əb-

1

a

: tending to cause obsession

b

: excessive often to an unreasonable degree

2

: of, relating to, or characterized by obsession : deriving from obsession

obsessive noun

obsessively adverb

obsessiveness noun

Synonyms

• besetting
• compulsive
• driven
• impulsive
• obsessional

Examples of obsessive in a Sentence

Many dancers are obsessive about their weight.

He is an obsessive workaholic who never stops thinking about his job.

an obsessive interest in space travel

The new therapy is supposed to help people control their obsessive thoughts.

Recent Examples on the Web

This show should finally set the record straight: here is an American visionary whose obsessive paintings are at once stylized and crudely instinctive, achieving a kind of cryptic simplicity that might be called folk surrealism. —Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025

That's right, Penn Badgley will return as Joe Goldberg in the fifth and final season of the show about the obsessive young man who goes to extreme lengths to get close to people he becomes transfixed by. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2025

But with their runaway success came the same sort of obsessive fan culture that once surrounded bands like the Beatles, including an overinvestment in their personal lives and relationships. —James Factora, Them, 24 Mar. 2025

Set in '90s Los Angeles, Borderline stars Ray Nicholson as Duerson, an obsessive fan of Weaving’s pop star Sofia who breaks into her mansion to stage their wedding. —Jen Juneau, People.com, 23 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

obsess + -ive

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing obsessive

• obsessive-compulsive
• obsessive-compulsive disorder

Rhymes for obsessive

• aggressive
• compressive
• concessive
• depressive
• excessive
• expressive
• impressive
• oppressive
• possessive
• progressive
• recessive
• regressive

Kids Definition

obsessive

adjective

ob·​ses·​sive äb-ˈses-iv 

əb-

: of, relating to, having, or being an obsession

obsessively adverb

Medical Definition

obsessive

1 of 2 adjective

ob·​ses·​sive äb-ˈses-iv, əb- 

: of, relating to, causing, or characterized by obsession : deriving from obsession

obsessive behavior

obsessively adverb

obsessiveness noun

obsessive

2 of 2 noun

: an obsessive individual