obsess

obsess
    v 1: haunt like a ghost; pursue; "Fear of illness haunts her"
         [syn: {haunt}, {obsess}, {ghost}]
    2: be preoccupied with something; "She is obsessing over her
       weight"
    

obsess \ob*sess"\, v. t. [L. obsessus, p. p. of obsidere to
   besiege; ob (see {Ob-}) + sedere to sit.]
   1. To besiege; to beset. [archaic] --Sir T. Elyot.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To excessively preoccupy the thoughts or feelings of; to
      haunt the mind persistently.
      [PJC]
    

obsess \ob*sess"\, v. i.
   To be excessively or persistently preoccupied with something;
   -- usually used with on or over; as, to obsess over an
   imagined insult.
   [PJC]

         At all ages children are driven to figure out what it
         takes to succeed among their peers and to give these
         strategies precedence over anything their parents foist
         on them. Weary parents know they are no match for a
         child's peers, and rightly obsess over the best
         neighborhood in which to bring their children up.
                                                  --Steven
                                                  Pinker (How
                                                  the Mind
                                                  Works, p.
                                                  449-450
                                                  [1997]).
   [PJC]
    

77 Moby Thesaurus words for "obsess":
      absorb, absorb the attention, arrest, be remembered, bedevil,
      beset, bewitch, burden, catch, charm, compel, control, crush one,
      demonize, devilize, diabolize, dominate, drive, enchant, engage,
      engage the attention, engage the mind, engage the thoughts,
      engross, engross the mind, engross the thoughts, enthrall,
      exercise, exhaust, fascinate, grab, grip, hant, harass, haunt,
      haunt the memory, hex, hold, hold spellbound, hold the interest,
      hoodoo, hypnotize, immerse, impel, infatuate, involve,
      involve the interest, jinx, make an impression, mesmerize,
      monopolize, never be forgotten, not let go, occupy,
      occupy the attention, oppress, overlook, penetrate, plague,
      possess, preoccupy, prey on, rankle, sink in, spellbind, spook,
      take over, take up, tire, torment, voodoo, wear out, wear upon one,
      weary, weigh upon, weight down, witch