preoccupy

CEFRC1

/pɹɪˈɒkjupaɪ/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To fill someone’s mind so they cannot think about other things.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To occupy or take possession of beforehand.

Examples

  • Fears about the upcoming exam began to preoccupy her thoughts completely.

  • I didn't want the problem to preoccupy all of my thoughts.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /pɹiˈɑkjupaɪ/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To worry or concern (someone) so as to distract them.

  2. To distract; to draw attention elsewhere.

More examples

In context

  • Work seemed to preoccupy him more than family matters.

  • It always preoccupies me when he acts like this.

  • The father tried to preoccupy the child with his keys.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The upcoming exam will blank the students' minds for the whole week.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From pre- + occupy, after Middle French preoccuper, and its source, Latin praeoccupo, praeoccupare. Doublet of preoccupate, now obsolete.