obsessive-compulsive: Meaning and Definition of

ob•ses•sive-com•pul•sive

Pronunciation: (ub-ses'iv-kum-pul'siv), [key]
— adj.
  1. of or pertaining to a personality style characterized by perfectionism, indecision, conscientiousness, concern with detail, rigidity, and inhibition.
  2. of or pertaining to a neurosis characterized by persistent intrusion of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or the performance of actions, as repeated hand-washing, that one is unable to stop (compulsions).
—n.
  1. a person having such a personality style.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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