preoccupied
pronunciation
How to pronounce preoccupied in British English:
UK [priˈɒkjupaɪd]
How to pronounce preoccupied in American English:
US [priˈɑkjupaɪd]
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- Adjective:
- deeply absorbed in thought
- having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
Word Origin
- preoccupied (adj.)
- "absorbed in thought," 1823, past participle adjective from preoccupy (v.). Earlier it meant "occupied in advance."
Example
- 1. For example , sometimes we drive the car on autopilot while being preoccupied with thoughts .
- 2. While the others were preoccupied with fighting , america strengthened its export markets at their expense .
- 3. Since 1990 europe has been almost continuously preoccupied by inter-governmental conferences and new treaties to tinker with its institutional architecture .
- 4. More optimistic analysts think china will stay preoccupied with economic development at home for at least two or three decades .
- 5. Much of the literature on post-capitalist economies is preoccupied with the problem of managing labor in the absence of capitalist bosses .