as in impulsive
caused by or suggestive of an irresistible urge
intrigued by the man's obsessive counting of everyday objects
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Recent Examples of obsessive
However, Grimmie's life was cut short when an obsessive fan fatally shot her during an autograph signing near downtown Orlando.
—
Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
It’s all linked to the madness and obsessive pursuit of making movies.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2026
Located on Capitol Hill, but away from the fray that is the Pike-Pine corridor, The Doctor’s Office feels more like the private library of an eccentric drinks obsessive than a bar.
—Mark Dejoy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 June 2026
Eugenia was clearly based on Mitford’s sister Unity, an obsessive Hitlerite, and another sister, Diana, would marry Oswald Mosley, the leader of the Jackshirts’ real-life analogue, the British Union of Fascists, whose supporters were known as Blackshirts.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for obsessive
Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
It’s all linked to the madness and obsessive pursuit of making movies.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2026
Located on Capitol Hill, but away from the fray that is the Pike-Pine corridor, The Doctor’s Office feels more like the private library of an eccentric drinks obsessive than a bar.
—Mark Dejoy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 June 2026
Eugenia was clearly based on Mitford’s sister Unity, an obsessive Hitlerite, and another sister, Diana, would marry Oswald Mosley, the leader of the Jackshirts’ real-life analogue, the British Union of Fascists, whose supporters were known as Blackshirts.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for obsessive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obsessive
Adjective
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Kat makes the impulsive decision to marry Charlie, who agrees to remain in the relationship for a few months for the positive press.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
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The criteria include frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, having unstable relationships, identity disturbance, impulsive behavior, chronic feelings of emptiness, intense anger, emotional instability, paranoia or dissociation under stress, and recurrent suicidal behavior or self-harm.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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In nearly three decades of practice, Bain can remember only one dog whose grazing was truly compulsive, and that dog obsessively ate everything, not just plants.—
Niranjana Rajalakshmi,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
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Nilsson admits to suffering from horror vacui—a fear of empty space, which in her case reads less like a neurotic affliction than like compulsive conviviality.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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But obsessional online culture has sought to answer questions of origin rather than waving them off.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obsessive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obsessive. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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