OBSESSES Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

obsesses

verb

present tense third-person singular of obsess

as in attracts

to hold one's attention to an extreme degree The TV show obsessed me so much that I was up all night watching.

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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 obsesses Business rightly obsesses over a leader's ability to create enterprise value over time. — Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026 Today, the media obsesses over the thoughts and fall-outs of AI visionaries like Altman and Amodei. — Michael Muthukrishna, Fortune, 23 July 2026 As the world obsesses over AI, pumping endless time and money into the next revolution, the obsessions and revolutions of the past are still there lingering — and some might finally be ready to flower away from the spotlight. — Evan Clark, Footwear News, 10 July 2026 And when one of them goes missing in the dead of night, they're thrust into a propulsive mystery pulled straight from the true-crime podcasts Sybil obsesses over. — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 30 June 2026 Tullman also hired Bre Smith as his executive vice president, an artist in her own right but also a veteran of hospitality at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey and elsewhere, and a woman with a hefty budget who obsesses over everything from the flatware to the level of customer service. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026 While the market obsesses over chips, the real story is Nvidia's 'five-layer stack' designed to squeeze hyperscaler margins and lock-in the generation of agentic AI. — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 15 Mar. 2026 Trump obsesses over bloodlines too. — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026 The narrator cries, rages, longs for the living body and the lively boy, and obsesses over painful details, especially the bleak journey by sea that brought the remains of his beloved friend back home. — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for obsesses

Verb

The resort itself attracts a similar crowd of New Yorkers and New Englanders looking for a weekend getaway where there’s something for everyone—fantastic food, outdoor activities, and an unforgettable spa.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Aug. 2026
This is precisely the domain of litigation public relations—a discipline that rarely attracts public attention, yet increasingly shapes the outcome of corporate conflicts.

— Alona Karpinska, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of attracts

Verb

Meanwhile, what fascinates aspiring neurologist Makenzie Stovall is the idea that AI is trying to emulate the brain — an organ whose inner workings continue to leave researchers dumbfounded.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
But the skillful way in which they are woven together belies the efforts that went into telling this story, and Lovely Reader, this dedication to quality fascinates me.

— Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of fascinates

Verb

That distance—the difficulty of truly making contact with another person from the limits of the self—interests me as a writer.

— Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026
What interests me is this idea of hybridity—where human infrastructure and natural systems become entangled.

— Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026