PREOCCUPIED • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Preoccupied

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/priˈɑkjəpˌaɪd/ Listen

verb

Preoccupy v. t. (past & past part. preoccupied; pres. part. preoccupying)

To take possession of before another; as, to preoccupy a country not before held.

To prepossess; to engage, occupy, or engross the attention of, beforehand; hence, to prejudice. "I Think it more respectful to the reader to leave something to reflections than to preoccupy his judgment."

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Etymology of 'Preoccupied'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Preoccupied" Quotes from Famous Books

... for me, and that is through the final triumph of the old flag. Therefore, what a day will bring forth God only knows. There have been times when I wished to tell you something of this, but there seemed little opportunity. As you said, a good many were coming and going, you seemed happy and preoccupied, and I got into the habit of reasoning, 'Every day that passes without a thought of trouble is just so much gained; and it may be unnecessary to cloud her life with fear and anxiety;' yet perhaps it would be mistaken kindness to let trouble come ...

— An Original Belle • E. P. Roe

... not a heart preoccupied! What thorn is like a loathing bride? Mark ye the shrubs how they turn from the sea, The sea's rough whispers shun? But like the sun of heaven be, And every flower will open wide. Woo with the shining patience ...

— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith

... as it is the most beautiful, of Dalmatian towns, Dubrovnik (Ragusa), was always more preoccupied with commerce and letters than with warfare. It managed to maintain itself in glory for a very long time, thanks to the astuteness of the citizens, who were ever willing to give handsome tribute to a potential ...

— The Birth of Yugoslavia, Volume 1 • Henry Baerlein

... idea, of the greatest importance in determining the true value of things, which preoccupied Duerer's mind and haunted his imagination: the idea of proportion. I propose therefore to attempt to make clear to myself and my readers what the idea of proportion really implies, and of what service a sense for proportion really is; secondly, to determine the special use ...

— Albert Durer • T. Sturge Moore

... happily. They were sobered, however, when Mr. Traill appeared, looking very grand in his Sabbath clothes. He inspected Bobby all over with anxious scrutiny, and gave each of the bairns a threepenny-bit, but he had no blithe greeting for them. Much preoccupied, he went off at once, with the animated little muff of a dog at his heels. In truth, Mr. Traill was thinking about how he might best plead Bobby's cause with the Lord Provost. The note that was handed him, on leaving the Burgh court the ...

— Greyfriars Bobby • Eleanor Atkinson

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