How to Use preoccupy in a Sentence

preoccupy

verb
  • The question of life after death has preoccupied many philosophers.
  • The weak state of our railways has long since preoccupied me.
    — Carolyn Harris, Smithsonian, 17 Feb. 2017
  • Putin is preoccupied with raising the birth rate at any cost, but there are few signs this can be changed.
    — Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024
  • If a staffer is preoccupied with fear, imagine all the work not being done.
    — Bonnie Low-Kramen, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Both artists were preoccupied with the abject side of the human body — the body as meat.
    — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 31 July 2019
  • Is she preoccupied by what she’s already lost — or by how much fighting lies ahead?
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 June 2026
  • The show is preoccupied with that tension.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
  • The two also sing, bringing fresh life into a film so preoccupied with the past.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2024
  • His obituaries were preoccupied with the fact that some of his works were very long.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
  • The man grunts, preoccupied with the survival of his business.
    — Hazlitt, 13 May 2025
  • Some of these folks behind may be preoccupied with their weather apps and such, not looking at the road.
    — Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
  • The moves reflected the mood of a market that seems just as preoccupied with the virus as the rest of the world.
    — Alex Veiga, Fortune, 10 Mar. 2020
  • Rather than preoccupy yourself with what people from your old hometown might say, live in the here and now.
    — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Yet the stories that preoccupy Holes are hard for others to hear.
    — Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2022
  • Tension over the bill preoccupied the Senate over two days last month.
    — David Ovalle, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Apr. 2023
  • But House members will still be preoccupied with the Biden probe.
    — Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Squire isn’t preoccupied by the attack against trans people.
    — Emily Brindley, Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
  • The teen's attorney said his client is doing well, but the case is preoccupying her life.
    — Cbs News Philadelphia Staff, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Melvin shook free from him later in the game, but Nelson was also preoccupied with the tight end.
    — Jeff McLane, Philly.com, 20 Mar. 2018
  • The reason, we were told, was that teachers didn’t want us to be preoccupied with vanity.
    — Charlotte Mensah, Essence, 24 Mar. 2025
  • That market participants are preoccupied with the risk that’s right in front of their faces.
    — Fortune, 10 Feb. 2018
  • The teenage carnie who has been preoccupied with his phone the phone finally looks up at his booth to discover that all the toys are gone.
    — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 21 June 2019
  • Switching homes, getting kids back to school and the revving up of the fall work schedule will most likely make your hosts preoccupied.
    — Marcy Blum, ELLE Decor, 4 Sep. 2015
  • The character—and the series—was preoccupied with the notion of true love.
    — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
  • What issue will have preoccupied both managers during the break?
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
  • People are preoccupied with everyday work stress, day-to-day sadness, and the like.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026
  • The narrator becomes preoccupied by the man who has left the message.
    — Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2023
  • But the bear, just 160 yards away, was preoccupied with filling his belly.
    — Kevin Farron, Outdoor Life, 21 Sep. 2023
  • With Dylan preoccupied, Greg heads to the bar and spots Cristle.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Its effectiveness was sketchy at best, but Lennon, who was preoccupied with his weight, didn’t seem to care.
    — Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preoccupy.' 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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