preoccupy
gb/pɹiˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/ us/pɹiˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/
C1
Anglais
foglalkoztat, elfoglal
VERBE
C1
1
foglalkoztat
B1
Schéma d’usage :
[something] preoccupies [someone]
The upcoming interview preoccupied her all weekend.
A közelgő állásinterjú egész hétvégén foglalkoztatta.
He seemed distracted in class, preoccupied by problems at home.
Szétszórtnak tűnt az órán, mert az otthoni problémák foglalkoztatták.
Questions about money have preoccupied the team for months.
Exemples pédagogiques
I was preoccupied with my exam.
A vizsgám foglalkoztatott.
The news preoccupied him all day.
A hír egész nap foglalkoztatta.
Erreur fréquente :
Don’t use it for physically ‘taking a seat/room’; that is usually occupy, not preoccupy.
Sens
fill someone’s mind
Collocations
be preoccupied with work
|be preoccupied with money
|be preoccupied with appearance
|be preoccupied with the future
|be preoccupied with problems
|be preoccupied with thoughts
|be preoccupied by worries
|a preoccupying thought
|preoccupy someone's mind
|preoccupy someone's thoughts
Synonymes
absorb (More general; can be mental or physical attention.)
|
engross (Often stronger, suggesting total attention.)
|
consume (Emphasizes intensity, often worries or emotions.)
Antonymes
relieve (To remove a worry or burden, leaving the mind freer.)
|
unburden (To free someone from something troubling them.)
Thèmes
emotions
|mind
|daily_life
|work
Définition
If something preoccupies you, you think about it a lot and it is hard to think about other things.
To fill someone’s thoughts or attention so much that they have little room to think about anything else.
VERBE
C2
FORMAL
2
elfoglal
A2
Schéma d’usage :
[someone] preoccupies [place]
In some accounts, the valley was preoccupied by settlers before the official survey.
Egyes beszámolók szerint a völgyet már a hivatalos felmérés előtt telepesek foglalták el.
The group tried to preoccupy key positions along the route before dawn.
A csoport hajnal előtt megpróbálta elfoglalni az útvonal menti kulcsfontosságú pontokat.
Erreur fréquente :
This meaning is uncommon in everyday English; most of the time, use occupy.
Sens
take over a place first
Collocations
preoccupy a territory
|preoccupy a region
|preoccupy the land
|preoccupy a position
|preoccupy a seat
Synonymes
occupy (The common modern verb; does not necessarily imply ‘before others’.)
|
seize (Stronger; suggests force or sudden action.)
Antonymes
vacate (To leave a place so it is no longer occupied.)
|
abandon (To leave something behind, often permanently.)
Thèmes
history
|politics
|law
Définition
To take a place before others can.
To occupy or take possession of a place before someone else does.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
preoccupy
API
GB/pɹiˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/
US/pɹiˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/
Syllabes et accentuation
pre - oc - cupy (3 syllabes)
Stress on 2nd syllable (oc)
Formes du mot
Verb
- Base: preoccupy
- 3rd Person Singular: preoccupies
- Present Participle: preoccupying
- Past: preoccupied
Famille de mots
Forms
preoccupies
verb
preoccupying
verb
preoccupied
verb
Core family
preoccupation
noun C1
Related words
Negative and opposite forms
unoccupied
adjective B2
Advanced or less common
occupancy
noun B2
Expressions
be preoccupied with [something]
1/bˈi pɹiˈɑkjəpˌaɪd wˈɪθ sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
be busy thinking about something
If you are preoccupied with something, you keep thinking about it.
Exemples
- She’s been preoccupied with her new job lately.
- I was so preoccupied with the deadline that I forgot to eat lunch.
- He looked preoccupied with something, but he wouldn’t say what.
Exemples pédagogiques
- He is preoccupied with work.
- I am preoccupied with my homework.