SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
obsessive
adjective
Marked by excessive, persistent attention or preoccupation.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Excessively preoccupied
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topObsessive here describes excessive preoccupation; compulsive is related but has distinct technical meanings in clinical contexts.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See obsessive in use
The novel depicts a collector whose obsessive attention centers on one missing volume.
An obsessive stage manager spends so long rechecking one tiny gap in the scenery that other necessary preparations remain unfinished.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license