be obsessed with v. obsess over
- Thread starter nagomi
- Start date
They mean roughly the same thing, nagomi. "To obsess over something" sounds a little more active than "to be obsessed with something".
If you are obsessed with something, you have probably been obsessed with it for a long time. You think about it all the time. It is abnormally important to you.
If you obsess over something, you can't stop thinking or worrying about something. There is no real implication about time here. You can obsess over something for a short time or a long one.
If you are obsessed with something, you have probably been obsessed with it for a long time. You think about it all the time. It is abnormally important to you.
If you obsess over something, you can't stop thinking or worrying about something. There is no real implication about time here. You can obsess over something for a short time or a long one.
RedwoodGrove
Senior Member
English, USA
I would say "obsess over" is informal, mainly because that's how I've heard people use it. I don't recall hearing it years ago so my impression is it came along after "be obsessed with." In my 1970 AHD it says "obsess: 2. to harass or beset like an evil spirit; haunt as a fixed idea." I believe "fixed idea" is an older psychological diagnosis. The "obsess" usages are probably more recent.
You little ripper!
Senior Member
Australian English
"To obsess over something" has more of an American flavour to me. Australians tend to use "obsessed with/by something".
I would say "obsess over" is informal, mainly because that's how I've heard people use it. I don't recall hearing it years ago so my impression is it came along after "be obsessed with." In my 1970 AHD it says "obsess: 2. to harass or beset like an evil spirit; haunt as a fixed idea." I believe "fixed idea" is an older psychological diagnosis. The "obsess" usages are probably more recent.
Thank you for such a detailed reply!
Thank you little ripper
"Some people obsess over knowing the exact time."
That is from a book for those preparing for the TOEFL test. The choice of preposition is over. I looked it up in WR Dictionary, and it gave some results saying that the verb obsess is usually followed by on or over. However, I have seen it used with about. I regard all of them as correct. Does over really sound American to you?
That is from a book for those preparing for the TOEFL test. The choice of preposition is over. I looked it up in WR Dictionary, and it gave some results saying that the verb obsess is usually followed by on or over. However, I have seen it used with about. I regard all of them as correct. Does over really sound American to you?
RedwoodGrove
Senior Member
English, USA
I don't know that any one of them is specifically correct. I still think the usage is slightly informal or colloquial, though it apparently has gained acceptance in the past few decades. I don't recall hearing "obsess on", while "obsess over" is common. The alternative is "to be obsessed with".
Americans definitely say it. It may be said in BE as well.
Obsessed over goes back to about 1935 and used to be infrequent but is, of late, increasingly common; "obsessed on" is rare but seems to be increasing; obsessed by is common, but the most popular is "obsessed with". (All differ in nuance.)
Google Ngram: obsessed over,obsessed by,obsessed with,obsessed on
Google Ngram: obsessed over,obsessed by,obsessed with,obsessed on