as in fascinates
to be thought about or worried about by (someone) very often or constantly
The question of life after death has preoccupied many philosophers.
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Recent Examples of preoccupies
In other versions, the demon preoccupies himself with people who’ve fallen asleep in church, carefully noting down every snore.
—
JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preoccupies
Verb
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Each, in different ways, fascinates me.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
24 Mar. 2026
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That singular point of view fascinates me.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Hopefully, there’s a spot that intrigues you.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
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The menu has a lot of delicious choices, but the one that intrigues my girlfriend is their overnight oat bowl.—
C.W. Cameron,
AJC.com,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And along with gender and empowerment, there’s also something about having bright colors and a lot of grief on stage that interests me.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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The Supreme Court only grants review to about 1% of petitions, but one scenario where the odds are higher involves federal circuit splits—especially when the number of people impacted is considerable and when the legal question interests the justices.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That is when Harbaugh will be able to crystallize for players like Cam Skattebo that football is the priority, and any outside nonsense that distracts from the goal of winning games is not going to be tolerated anymore.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
23 Mar. 2026
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Reading chairs can become hotspots for clutter, which distracts from rest.—
Shagun Khare,
The Spruce,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Preoccupies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preoccupies. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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