How to Use obsessive in a Sentence

obsessive

adjective
Definition of obsessivenext
Synonyms for obsessivenext
  • Many dancers are obsessive about their weight.
  • He is an obsessive workaholic who never stops thinking about his job.
  • The new therapy is supposed to help people control their obsessive thoughts.
  • One way is to foreground your obsessive commitment to the role—but even that can strike a false note.
    — Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
  • An obsessive protector of rock’s past could hold the key to its future.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 9 June 2022
  • At the close of the first video, Tyla speeds off into the night after a long day of being trailed in her car by an obsessive ex.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2024
  • The company has an obsessive dedication to its craft, down to the food the dairy cows eat.
    — Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 29 Dec. 2020
  • Most of it was chalked up to being a first-time head coach who can be obsessive about every detail.
    — J. Michael, The Indianapolis Star, 6 May 2021
  • The 1% have a strong sense of self and an obsessive focus on purpose combined with results.
    — Paul Prior, Forbes, 12 Nov. 2021
  • There is the obsessive search for a vessel, a form that will hold a filmic/poetic future, in all of Graham’s work.
    — Carol Muske-Dukes, Washington Post, 2 Sep. 2023
  • Her dispute by mail with her landlord was epic and obsessive.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2022
  • Those phones are meant for people who are more obsessive over some features.
    — Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2022
  • An obsessive quail hunter, Pickens designed and managed the ranch with upland birds in mind, and it’s been called a quail mecca by some.
    — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 7 Mar. 2024
  • For someone who spends an obsessive amount of time looking at any new addition to my face—Is that a new pore?
    — Jenny Singer, Glamour, 28 Dec. 2020
  • All these works — even the obsessive and eerie ones — feel somehow exultant.
    — Cate McQuaid, BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2022
  • Sunspot is known for their obsessive attention to detail, and this shirt is spun from some of the finest, most long-lasting cotton fibers on the market.
    — Todd Plummer, Travel + Leisure, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Much of this has to do with the film’s obsessive focus on delivering for its hardest-core fan base.
    — Washington Post, 3 May 2022
  • Good classes are not recalled in the same obsessive detail as bad ones because good classes are not eventful in the same way.
    — Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 11 July 2023
  • Hence the nearly obsessive time and thought devoted to perhaps the most unpredictable aspect of the sport.
    — David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2021
  • But kinky, horny, grotesque, obsessive, meticulous, cruel — those are all good to go.
    — Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Anderson is aware of the obsessive interest in her ’90s style.
    — Véronique Hyland, ELLE, 17 Aug. 2023
  • Bacall plays a Broadway star whose avid fan base includes an obsessive Michael Biehn.
    — Gem Seddon, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2021
  • One of the most important came from her obsessive desire to get rid of her monthly mortgage payment.
    — Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
  • Honda cars gained a foothold in the US through an obsessive focus on fuel economy.
    — Hiawatha Bray, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Aug. 2022
  • Stephen Carter can be obsessive: about clothes, vintage audio equipment, and chicories.
    — Hugh Garvey, Sunset Magazine, 5 Oct. 2023
  • The formal definition of this condition is an obsessive use of your phone with a lack of self-control.
    — Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 15 July 2022
  • If my inner rhythm won, I was tortured by the tempo of my own obsessive brain; if my parents’ arguing won, I was trapped by fear.
    — Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 10 Aug. 2023
  • The goal was to try to curb obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
    — New York Times, 24 Feb. 2021
  • Harris was known to be demanding and obsessive about details.
    — Hank Tucker, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
  • When Shams is targeted by an obsessive attacker, they are forced to escape to the capital city of Tunis.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obsessive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: