Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To occupy completely the mind or attention of; engross. See Synonyms at monopolize.
- v. To occupy or take possession of in advance or before another.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To occupy before others; take possession of or appropriate for use in advance of others.
- To fill beforehand; cause to be occupied previously.
- To occupy or engage the attention of beforehand; engross in advance of others; prepossess; preëngage.
Wiktionary
- v. To distract; to occupy or draw attention elsewhere.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To take possession of before another.
- v. To prepossess; to engage, occupy, or engross the attention of, beforehand; hence, to prejudice.
WordNet 3.0
- v. engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively
- v. occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance
Etymologies
- From pre- + occupy. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The exhibition explores an artist who was strikingly modern in character, confronting subjects and themes – the city, sexuality, manners, social integration, crime, political corruption, charity and patriotism – that continue to preoccupy us today.”
“One problem is that the ideas that preoccupy the author here have to do with language itself.”
“Unravelling what happened and how close the nation came to disaster will preoccupy scientists and engineers for years.”
The Guardian: Japan nuclear fears as systems fail at second reactor
“I found myself wishing and wishing for the heartache to just stop; that something else, anything, would preoccupy my mind.”
Simon & Schuster: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery
“Attacking commercial aviation—the central nervous system of the global economy—continued to preoccupy al-Qaeda after 9/11.”
“But there are answers to major American problems that preoccupy us today, such as long-term debt (see the recommendations of recent deficit commissions) and political gridlock (for example, changes in redistricting procedures to reduce gerrymandering).”
“However I wonder what all of this -- including the life without parole a potential possibility -- says about us as a society, and as individuals who likely see ourselves as too busy to preoccupy ourselves with something that seems indubitably savage.”
“However, on the big, burning questions that still preoccupy many of us -- not so much "what are we?" as "why are we?”
The Huffington Post: Christopher Lane: Debates About Agnosticism Are As Old As The Concept Itself
“Before we leave the State of the Union to focus on whatever squabbles will preoccupy us next week, it's worth pausing on a curious observation made by Paul Ryan in his response -- a sentiment sure to come back in the battles ahead.”
The Washington Post: Charade of the week: What 'hammock' is Paul Ryan talking about?
“The agony of the parents, the periodic cruelty of the father -- all are the powerful but passing dramas that for the moment entirely preoccupy us as we watch the movie.”
The Huffington Post: Rabbi David Wolpe: The Religious Meaning Of Malick's 'Tree of Life'
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘preoccupy’.
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set phasers to...
you name the setting
I've tuned mine to be gentler and kinder
following suit is not mandatory but would be appreciatedcoddle, confuse, flummox, tap, furrow, instigate, invigorate, punnify, logical, must... act... be..., bowdlerise, laughing gas and 435 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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Another day, a whole nother list
rump, spot on, flank, outflank, rank, bedeck, leafhopper, apocope, academic, set-to, point of no return, cloy and 210 more...
Tweets
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