as in to fascinate
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 preoccupy
The debates currently tend to be preoccupied with the loss of white-collar jobs due to the attainment of AGI.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
So would the gratitude that comes to preoccupy Serk.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 3 June 2025
Stage eight was an opportunity for the breakaway, sandwiched between two days set to preoccupy the GC contenders, and Plapp read the race conditions perfectly.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Jonathan Tucker’s Tim Weiner is one of the crew preoccupied with the Lisbons.
—Sezin Devi Koehler, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preoccupy
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
So would the gratitude that comes to preoccupy Serk.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 3 June 2025
Stage eight was an opportunity for the breakaway, sandwiched between two days set to preoccupy the GC contenders, and Plapp read the race conditions perfectly.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Jonathan Tucker’s Tim Weiner is one of the crew preoccupied with the Lisbons.
—Sezin Devi Koehler, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preoccupy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preoccupy
Verb
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The writer was fascinated with sharks after spotting them during childhood fishing trips with his father on Nantucket.—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
20 June 2025
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That stuff about the Gunn Mummy fascinates me though.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
18 June 2025
Verb
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What interested him most was why his captors had resorted to kidnapping him and his father in the first place.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
14 June 2025
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For now, the editorial line of the streamers in France doesn’t interest me.—
Annika Pham,
Variety,
12 June 2025
Verb
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Hall also got into bits and pieces of 19 games with the Nuggets, totaling just 114 minutes, but his G League sample is the part that intrigues.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
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What intrigued you about those existential questions at play here?—
Yvonne Villarreal,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Shepherding that split to reality will leave WBD leadership distracted for a year, Martin estimated.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
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Cho, as the perceptive and generous Jin, distracted from his own family troubles by the sudden flashes of Casey’s bright light, is wise and rejuvenated; disinterested admiration makes this man, who looks to be in his forties, nearly a teen-ager again.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
20 June 2025
Verb
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These words, which fill a popular meme set against the profile of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., occupy our thoughts.—
Michael Pfleger,
Chicago Tribune,
29 June 2025
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Both occupy lots between Barack Obama Boulevard and South Montgomery Street south of SAP Center.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preoccupy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preoccupy. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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