obsessive-compulsive

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of obsessive-compulsive Researchers focused on five serious and common mental health symptoms: suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, delusions, mania and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025 These range from perseverative behavior after damage to the frontal lobes, obsessive-compulsive disorders, repetitive actions in severe autism and in Tourette’s syndrome, all the way to self-destructive forms of addiction. Anil Seth, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025 This underinformed and out-of-date article could have offered a good-faith exploration of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Harper’s Magazine, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 However, for some children, these behaviors may be an early sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a condition often thought to affect only older children or adults. Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for obsessive-compulsive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obsessive-compulsive
Adjective
  • Their personas could be withholding, eccentric, neurotic, ambiguous, strange.
    Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Vanya is a closeted gay man who shuns intimacy and Sonia is a neurotic spinster who feels unnoticed and unloved.
    Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The exchange is later revealed to be a schizophrenic episode.
    JR Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The investigation confirmed a mental health component to the case, suggesting that Ricklefs may have been experiencing a schizophrenic episode, according to the news release.
    Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Matthiessen, not without reason, portrays the Bureau as paranoid, dishonest, and in league with corporate interests.
    Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
  • There’s decent chemistry between Roberts and Mel Gibson in this schlocky but slick paranoid thriller.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The idea of a schizoid Lady M is not entirely without appeal, but despite strong performances across the board, the work runs aground fast.
    Rhoda Feng, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
  • The entire movie, of course, was a goof, a schizoid cardboard Vaudeville horror burlesque shot in two days and a night by Roger Corman.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Adjective
  • My childhood had left me with social anxiety and a disordered relationship with food.
    Bee Wilson, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Marta worries gently about herself, in particular about her disordered eating and loss of appetite.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But for a few unlucky people, chatbots powered by the technology have become a gaslighting, delusional menace.
    Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Her protagonist, known to have been derived from herself in a few other ways, blunders along and is charming but delusional, unlike Austen’s fiercely independent and witty Elizabeth Bennet.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Oh plays Eve, a deskbound MI-5 agent who longs to be a spy in the field, a dream that is soon realized when a mutual obsession develops between her and a sadistic, sociopathic assassin (Jodie Comer) who always evades capture.
    Vulture Editors, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Some people don’t enjoy acting sociopathic, under any circumstance.
    Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • From there, the movie takes a delirious turn, with nobody else on the yacht seemingly knowing who this mysterious woman is.
    Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
  • His teammates in the dugout were just as delirious as the customers in the stands.
    Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Obsessive-compulsive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obsessive-compulsive. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on obsessive-compulsive

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!