# obsession

Pronunciation: say "uhb-SESH-uhn" /əbˈsɛʃən/

## Noun

1. A pursuit or thing that drives a compulsive, possibly unhealthy fixation, or the fixation it produces.
   - Simple: A hobby or thing you focus on so much that it may harm you.
   - _Fitness had become an obsession that crowded out everything else in his life._
   - _Restoring vintage motorcycles grew from a weekend hobby into a full obsession._
2. An idea that drives a compulsive or irrational preoccupation, or the preoccupation that idea produces.
   - Simple: An idea you keep thinking about over and over, even when it makes no sense.
   - _His obsession with conspiracy theories consumed every conversation he joined._
   - _The thought of the missing money became an obsession that disturbed her sleep._
3. The condition or quality of being completely preoccupied by something.
   - Simple: The state of not being able to stop thinking about something.
   - _His obsession showed in the long hours he devoted to the smallest tasks._
   - _There is an obsession at the heart of nearly every great scientific quest._
4. Influence or control exerted by evil spirits from without, as distinct from possession, in which the spirits take hold of the body itself.
   - Simple: Influence or control over a person by evil spirits from outside, without the spirits entering the body.
   - _The exorcist treated her obsession as an assault by spirits besieging her from outside, not dwelling within._
   - _Reports of obsession troubled the parish, with witnesses describing unseen forces harassing the afflicted._

## Origin

From Latin obsessio ("a besieging"), from obsidere ("to besiege"), formed as obsess plus the suffix -ion.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/obsession (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).