as in obsession
something about which one is constantly thinking or concerned
the future entomologist's preoccupation with insects from a very early age
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Recent Examples of preoccupation
Today President Trump’s preoccupation with foreign dominance in the region is focused squarely on Beijing.
—
Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor, 30 May 2025
During this period, the concept of immortality—the physical departure from human society and the achievement of eternal life—became a national preoccupation.
—Jane Levere, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
Johnson’s appearance, however, occurred not in the current wave of federal overreach but in May of 1935, amid a feverish preoccupation with communism in academia.
—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
What the director hadn’t learned at this embryonic stage was how to bend his perverse preoccupations into a compelling dramatic shape, or even into gross-out thrills.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preoccupation
Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor, 30 May 2025
During this period, the concept of immortality—the physical departure from human society and the achievement of eternal life—became a national preoccupation.
—Jane Levere, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
Johnson’s appearance, however, occurred not in the current wave of federal overreach but in May of 1935, amid a feverish preoccupation with communism in academia.
—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
What the director hadn’t learned at this embryonic stage was how to bend his perverse preoccupations into a compelling dramatic shape, or even into gross-out thrills.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preoccupation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preoccupation
obsession
Noun
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Given my obsession with identity, Simon’s comments on access control caught my eye.—
David G.W. Birch,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
-
What matters is whether genuine compatibility exists beneath the obsession.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
5 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preoccupation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preoccupation. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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