obsession
/əbˈsɛʃən/noun
obsession is spelled O-B-S-E-S-S-I-O-N. The wrong spelling people search most is obession: about 1,950 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 16 of all searches for the word. Obsession is a noun meaning “The quality of being obsessed; an unshakeable feeling that one topic or activity must be pursued above other…”. The plural of obsession is obsessions.
How many letters and syllables are in obsession?
| Letters | 9: O-B-S-E-S-S-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.9 times per million words; the 8,266th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, obession, about 1,950 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell obsession?
Obsession is spelled O-B-S-E-S-S-I-O-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 16 of the searches for obsession in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is obsession?
Obsession appears 7.9 times per million words in written English, the 8,266th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obsession?
- US /əbˈsɛʃən/
Obsession has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-obsession.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with obsession?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as obsession from its last stressed vowel (/ɛʃən/):
- session
- profession
- aggression
- progression
- compression
- oppression
- suppression
- concession
- regression
- accession
- hessian
- digression
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of obsession
- obsessions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obsession mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The quality of being obsessed; an unshakeable feeling that one topic or activity must be pursued above other interests.
My obsession with rugby resulted in me spending years following the sport.
- 2
An idea that engenders a compulsive or irrational preoccupation, or the preoccupation thereby engendered.
The downfall of the chairman is an obsession that consumes Laura's time.
- 3
An activity or entity that inspires a compulsive and potentially unhealthy fixation, or the fixation thereby inspired.
Editing Wikipedia started as a hobby, but it's turned into a complete obsession of mine.
- 4
Influence or control by evil spirits without possession.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obsession in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | idée fixe , obsession |
| German | fixe Idee , Besessenheit, Sucht |
| Portuguese | obsessão |
| Spanish | obsesión |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obsession come from?
From Latin obsessio (“a besieging”), from obsidere (“to besiege”); see obsess. Equivalent to obsess + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).