as in obsession
something about which one is constantly thinking or concerned
the future entomologist's preoccupation with insects from a very early age
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Recent Examples of preoccupation
Imp brings all the quartet’s chief preoccupations back around: the threat of violence, especially of suicide; questions of fantasy and belief; and the weird eternal recurrence of our own human myths.
—
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025
Rollins has consistently excelled in the unpredictable chaos of multi-man contests, and with the intense focus likely to be on the animosity between Punk and Reigns, The Visionary could strategically capitalize on their preoccupation.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Apr. 2025
Why the preoccupation with whether transgender women are stealing places from women born female when women are more likely to have their practices curbed by men’s and boys’ teams kicking them off their training pitches?
—Katie Whyatt, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Join 4 others in the comments View Comments The threat posed to living artists is now Walker’s main preoccupation.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preoccupation
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025
Rollins has consistently excelled in the unpredictable chaos of multi-man contests, and with the intense focus likely to be on the animosity between Punk and Reigns, The Visionary could strategically capitalize on their preoccupation.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Apr. 2025
Why the preoccupation with whether transgender women are stealing places from women born female when women are more likely to have their practices curbed by men’s and boys’ teams kicking them off their training pitches?
—Katie Whyatt, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Join 4 others in the comments View Comments The threat posed to living artists is now Walker’s main preoccupation.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preoccupation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preoccupation
obsession
Noun
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Aristotle was able to see his obsessions from a scholarly remove, and to recognize that his drive to spend so much time at depth may have begotten a sort of madness.—
Matthew Gavin Frank
June 12,
Literary Hub,
12 June 2025
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Visionaries often share a tendency for extremism and fervor, an obsession with purity.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preoccupation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preoccupation. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
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