PREOCCUPY (preoccupied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: preoccupied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does preoccupy mean? 

• PREOCCUPY (verb)
  The verb PREOCCUPY has 2 senses:

1. engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively

2. occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance

  Familiarity information: PREOCCUPY used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PREOCCUPY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they preoccupy    ... he / she / it preoccupies   
Past simple: preoccupied   
Past participle: preoccupied   
-ing form: preoccupying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

The matter preoccupies her completely--she cannot think of anything else

Hypernyms (to "preoccupy" is one way to...):

command; control (exercise authoritative control or power over)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "preoccupy"):

ghost; haunt; obsess (haunt like a ghost; pursue)

prepossess (cause to be preoccupied)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

preoccupancy; preoccupation (the mental state of being preoccupied by something)

preoccupation (an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

the army preoccupied the hills

Hypernyms (to "preoccupy" is one way to...):

arrogate; assume; seize; take over; usurp (seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

preoccupation (the act of taking occupancy before someone else does)

 Context examples 

‘Ah!’ said he, ‘you must not think me rude if I passed you without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with business matters.’

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

After a little rambling talk, the lawyer led up to the subject which so disagreeably preoccupied his mind.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Your partner might feel you’ve been so preoccupied at work that you’ve neglected your relationship, one in need of loving attention.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Sometimes, preoccupied with her work, she sang the refrain very low, very lingeringly; "A long time ago" came out like the saddest cadence of a funeral hymn.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

They were totally preoccupied.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

You will be very preoccupied with work this month (necessarily so), and your partner may feel diminished by the lack of attention you can give.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)