obsessive-compulsive
8
7.5
- noun
- /əbˈsɛsɪv kəmˈpʌlsɪv/
- Specialized
:
obsesivo-compulsivo
- My actual obsessive-compulsive disorder began when I was ten.
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- obsessive-compulsive people
And all of us are obsessive compulsives, are we not?
- And all of us are obsessive compulsives, are we not?
Examples
-
A 14-year-old non-verbal boy with autism has seen a psychiatrist who recommends risperidone syrup for his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Academic text (2014) -
The increase in the number of students coming to college already diagnosed with significant mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and substance abuse histories, is well documented by professional organizations, researchers, and the popular media.
Academic text (2016) -
I know administrators who are obsessive-compulsive.
Academic text (2017) -
And all of us are obsessive compulsives, are we not?
-
The two most convincing accounts of resistance were from men with obsessive-compulsive personalities.
Academic text (2004) -
During this phase, family members learned to avoid self-blame and to place responsibility for seeking help for the problem with the obsessive-compulsive person.
Academic text (1995) -
Right, unless you have an obsessive-compulsive personality (as I do at times) and a family or other commitments.
Blog text (31) -
In "Reunion," Gordon embodies obsessive-compulsive disorder and a phobia of children as well as the need for acceptance in a normal family.
Academic text (2011) -
Families of obsessive-compulsive people have been coerced into overtly or covertly participating in strange and bizarre behaviors.
Academic text (1995) -
Megan is an obsessive-compulsive person, often rearranging her books multiple times a day until they are perfect.
Synonyms
1
6.5
A person who thinks about one thing too much in a way that harms them
A person who thinks about one thing too much
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
obsessive-compulsive = obsessive + compulsive (transparent) = obsessive + compulsive
The compound is a clear combination of the two adjectives 'obsessive' and 'compulsive'; knowing those words lets a learner infer the noun meaning.
Etymology
Obsessive-compulsive comes from two parts: obsess (to be 'held' by a thought) and compel (to 'force' someone to act). So an obsessive-compulsive is a person whose mind is 'held' by repeated unwanted thoughts and who feels 'forced' to do the same actions again and again.