See Also: obsession(medicine)
Obsession(health)
obsession(dictionary)
obsession(dictionary)

obsession (iou)



obsession noun. E16.
[Latin obsessio(n-), formed as OBSESS: see -ION.]
The action of besieging a place; a siege. E16-M17.
The supposed action of an evil spirit in besetting a person; the supposed state or fact of being affected by an evil spirit from outside. Now rare. E17.
E. B. Tylor These cases belong rather to obsession than possession.
(The action of) an idea or image which continually or persistently fills the mind; Psychology an idea or image that repeatedly intrudes on the mind of a person against his or her will and is usually distressing; the state of being affected in this way. L17.
R. Clay I never had her obsession about cleanliness. Lifestyle Supermarket aisles are devoted to a modern obsession for chemically-induced cleanliness. Guardian An egalitarian obsession with redistribution had eroded incentives.
? Not recorded between L17 and M19.
obsessionist noun a person who is obsessed, or is subject to obsession E20.