How to Use obsessive in a Sentence

obsessive

adjective
  • Many dancers are obsessive about their weight.
  • He is an obsessive workaholic who never stops thinking about his job.
  • The new therapy is supposed to help people control their obsessive thoughts.
  • Think hard about the words, but don’t be obsessive about them.
    — SI.com, 28 May 2018
  • Zahs, a genial obsessive, is a lot of fun, and so is the movie.
    — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 June 2018
  • Ghasemipour is self-taught, which is why his pizza craft is so obsessive.
    — Kate Kassin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 June 2026
  • These kids are as obsessive and quirky as a top-level athlete.
    — John Timmer, Ars Technica, 16 Sep. 2018
  • Pawlowski urges parents not to be obsessive about where the items go.
    — Jolie Kerr, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2020
  • Those phones are meant for people who are more obsessive over some features.
    — Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2022
  • Her dispute by mail with her landlord was epic and obsessive.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2022
  • Dreher’s dance around the issue of race is a fretful, obsessive one.
    — Sarah Jones, New Republic, 25 Jan. 2018
  • Baker is obsessive about his craft.
    — Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2025
  • Some might even call their love for these places obsessive, or at least that's what one dog proved in a viral video.
    — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Tis a deep, obsessive fashion love.
    — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 16 June 2026
  • An obsessive protector of rock’s past could hold the key to its future.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 9 June 2022
  • The first section of the film deals with Tarik and obsessive fandom.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Most of it was chalked up to being a first-time head coach who can be obsessive about every detail.
    — J. Michael, The Indianapolis Star, 6 May 2021
  • In any case, the judging at the contest borders on the obsessive.
    — Charles Passy, WSJ, 25 Apr. 2018
  • These are the micro-anxieties of a new class of health obsessive.
    — Brennan Kilbane, GQ, 9 Mar. 2018
  • Keep in mind that this is a game that’s designed around these kinds of obsessive replay sessions.
    — Nick Statt, The Verge, 29 June 2019
  • One way is to foreground your obsessive commitment to the role—but even that can strike a false note.
    — Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
  • Don’t belabor your point No one likes a boor or an obsessive, so don’t be one.
    — Dwight Silverman, San Antonio Express-News, 3 July 2018
  • Even the most obsessive dancing queen will find fresh storytelling and breadth in these pages.
    — Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 20 June 2025
  • The whole movie is really about money in this obsessive way.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 20 Nov. 2025
  • The obsessive urge to re-enact your own life, but perfectly, through your child.
    — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 19 June 2020
  • It’s all linked to the madness and obsessive pursuit of making movies.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2026
  • Pratt will always be that obsessive guy who is thinking 10 steps ahead.
    — Rachel Brodsky, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
  • And then, there were the obsessive, protective fans known as Swifties.
    — New York Times, 24 Nov. 2019
  • The upside of all this obsessive testing?
    — Outside, 22 Nov. 2025
  • More than a few were obsessive Zappa fans who hoped to gain access to his fabled vaults.
    — David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obsessive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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