as in to fascinate
to be thought about or worried about by (someone) very often or constantly
The question of life after death has preoccupied many philosophers.
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Recent Examples of preoccupy
Conflicts elsewhere had made Assad’s key allies unable or unwilling to defend him: Russia was preoccupied with its war in Ukraine; Iran was debilitated and powerless to protect its proxies; and Hezbollah, in Lebanon, was weakened by its fight with Israel.
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Volker Perthes, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2025
This is the claim that your mind is being preoccupied or disturbed without a suitable form of ROI in the sense that the mental and human costs outweigh the benefits.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
January also looks like a month where you’ll be preoccupied with hustle and grind mode, but not because work is going completely according to plan.
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Dec. 2024
The character just addresses so many of his interests, and is preoccupied with a lot of the same esoteric knowledge and research.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for preoccupy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preoccupy
Verb
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And that also fascinates me, how one piece of clothing can have that many different styles and expressions to it—the wash, the color, the shape, the length, the waist, low slung, high waist, straight leg, wide leg.—
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Endora was basically a drag queen, so everyone was fascinated by that.—
Verb
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Garcia’s explanation: The American style of living has always interested him.—
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Other word names like Blessing, Treasure, Loyalty and Cherish might interest this crowd, as well.—
Verb
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The Cowboys defensive coordinator job became available and he was intrigued by the opportunity to return to Dallas after coaching the team’s linebackers from 2011 through 2017.—
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For our part, we’re intrigued by the iComfort Mattress and the Perfect Sleeper hybrid.—
Verb
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Such a merger seems exceedingly far from likely, even if Tesla CEO Elon Musk wasn't completely distracted dismantling the federal government and its workforce.—
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There's a lot to get distracted by, which is a big part of the fun.—
Verb
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Delle had set the glass on the floor, and was now occupying her hands by picking at her inky black manicure.—
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Russia now occupies some 20% of Ukraine’s territory.—
Cite this Entry
“Preoccupy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preoccupy. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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