obsession

nouncommon in dialogue

United Kingdom//əbˈsɛʃən//

The quality of being obsessed; an unshakeable feeling that one topic or activity must be pursued above other interests.

noun

1
The quality of being obsessed; an unshakeable feeling that one topic or activity must be pursued above other interests.
My obsession with rugby resulted in me spending years following the sport.
2
An idea that engenders a compulsive or irrational preoccupation, or the preoccupation thereby engendered.
The downfall of the chairman is an obsession that consumes Laura's time.
3
An activity or entity that inspires a compulsive and potentially unhealthy fixation, or the fixation thereby inspired.
Editing Wikipedia started as a hobby, but it's turned into a complete obsession of mine.
His current obsession is getting that law passed.
4
Influence or control by evil spirits without possession.
if an evil spirit counterfeits the presence of God, and comes upon the man as an influence only, it may be described as obsession; but when a footing is gained in him, it is "possession," because the obsessing spirits have gained access, and possess the ground they hold, up to the extent of the ground given.
They should see that a perception of their identification with the Victor of Calvary is absolutely necessary if they are to constantly and victoriously resist the obsession of evil spirits.
It is true, that by the workings of the law of attraction, and the susceptibility of mortals to the influence of spirit powers, mortals may become obsessed by the spirits of evil—that is evil spirits of men who once lived on earth—and this obsession may become so complete and powerful that the living mortal may lose all power to resist this influence of the evil spirits...

Etymology

From Latin obsessio (“a besieging”), from obsidere (“to besiege”); see obsess. Equivalent to obsess + -ion.

Forms

plural: obsessions

observer · One who makes observations, monitors or takes notice.observing · observation obsessed · Intensely preoccupied with or by a given topic or emotion;…

obsession · The quality of being obsessed; an unshakeable feeling that one topic or activity must be pursued above other interests.

obsessive · Prone to cause obsession.obsolete · No longer in use or no longer useful; now disused or…obstacle · Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up…

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.