obsessionally
- adverb
- /əbˈsɛʃənəli/
- She obsessionally checked her phone for new messages every few minutes.
Examples
-
Sabina's talk had spiraled obsessionally around the death of her mother.
Fiction book (1996) -
He's immensely seductive, quite sure he's right and obsessionally neurotic pretty dangerous, in fact.
-
He worked obsessionally on his project, refusing to take breaks.
-
The artist painted obsessionally, unable to step away from her canvas.
Synonyms
In a way that shows too much worry about one thing and makes you repeat actions
To do something because you cannot stop yourself
To show very strong support for a group or cause
In a very fussy way about small details
How Obsessive
Surface Forms
Morphology
obsessionally = obsessional (transparent) = obsession + al + ly
Formed by adding the productive adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'obsessional', yielding a predictable adverbial meaning.
Etymology
The word obsessionally comes from the verb obsess, from Latin parts ob- 'against' and sedere 'to sit', so it once meant a thought that 'sits on' you and will not go away. That's why to do something obsessionally is to do it in a repeated, restless way, as if you cannot stop the same thought or action.