①obsess about / over sthv.过分琢磨；对……过分担忧

Synonymsworry about, dwell on, fixate on

• Do not obsess over the things you cannot change; focus on what you can create.不要过分琢磨你无法改变的事情，专注于你能创造的可能。

②be obsessed with / by sthv.着迷；对……痴迷

Synonymsfixated, preoccupied, infatuated

• To be successful, you have to be obsessed with your work.要想成功，你必须对自己的事业心怀痴迷。— Jiro Ono

③sth obsess sbv.使缠绕；使神魂颠倒

Synonymshaunt, plague, consume

• Let greatness obsess you until mediocrity becomes entirely unbearable.让对卓越的追求萦绕于心，直到平庸变得无法忍受。

①an obsession with sth / sbn.对……的痴迷；无法摆脱的执念

Synonymsfixation, preoccupation, infatuation, fascination

• Good design is a lot like clear thinking made visual, and involves a certain obsession with detail.优秀的设计就像把清晰的思维具象化，它包含着一种对细节的执念。— Edward Tufte

②sth becomes an obsessionn.成为令人着迷的事物；成瘾的事

Synonymsmania, craze, passion

• When a passion becomes an obsession, it ceases to enrich life and begins to consume it.当热情沦为执念，它便不再丰盈生命，而是开始吞噬生活。

①be obsessive about sthadj.过分痴迷的；过虑的

Synonymsfixated, consumed, preoccupied

• To be obsessive about perfection is to rob oneself of the joy of creation.过分执着于完美，就会剥夺自己创造的乐趣。

②obsessive behavior / thoughts / desireadj.强迫性的；难以释怀的

Synonymscompulsive, haunting, persistent

• The artist's obsessive desire to create often borders on madness, yet therein lies genius.艺术家难以抑制的创作欲望往往近乎疯狂，然而天才正蕴于其中。

③an obsessiven.强迫症患者；着魔的人

Synonymsfanatic, maniac

• History is not made by the reasonable, but by the obsessives who refuse to give up.历史并非由理智之人创造，而是由那些决不轻言放弃的着魔者所书写。

①possess sthv.拥有；具有（某品质、能力或特征）

Synonymshave, own, hold

• Those who possess an art should not hide it.身怀技艺之人，不应将其藏匿。— Aesop

②sth possess sbv.（强烈情感或念头）支配；控制某人

Synonymsseize, consume, dominate

• A terrible dread possessed him, freezing his very will.一种极度的恐惧支配了他，冻结了他的全部意志。

③what / whatever possessed sb to do sthv.究竟什么让某人做出（荒谬的事）；着了什么魔

Synonymsdrive sb to do sth, compel sb to do sth

• What possessed you to trade a lifetime of peace for a moment of pride?你究竟着了什么魔，竟用一生的平静去换取片刻的虚荣？

①in possession of sthn.拥有；持有

Synonymsownership, custody, control

• Wisdom is the only thing we can be in possession of that cannot be lost.智慧是我们唯一能拥有且绝不会失去的东西。

②personal possessionsn.所有物；财产（常作复数）

Synonymsbelongings, property, goods

• Life does not consist in the abundance of personal possessions.生命的价值不在于拥有丰厚的个人财产。

③gain / lose possession of sthn.控制权；控球权

Synonymscontrol, hold, dominance

• Those who lose possession of their minds can never truly hold anything else.失去自我心灵控制权的人，终将一无所控。

①be possessive of sb / sthadj.占有欲强的；独占心重的

Synonymsjealous, controlling, domineering, protective

• True love allows each other to grow freely, while possessive love only builds an invisible cage.真正的爱让彼此自由成长，而占有欲强的爱只会筑起无形的牢笼。

②possessive pronoun / caseadj.（语法）所有格的；物主的

Synonymsgenitive

• Life does not belong to us; our days are lent, not given in the possessive case.生命并不归我们所有；岁月不过是借与我们的，而非以所有格赋予我们。

③in the possessiven.所有格；物主代词

Synonymspossessive case, genitive

• We speak of time in the possessive, yet it is always time that truly possesses us.我们用所有格谈论时间，然而真正拥有我们的始终是时间。

In this sentence

①take precedence over sthn.优先权；优先地位

Synonymspriority, preference, supremacy

在计算机与软件配置场景中，“Settings files and precedence”指多个配置文件同时存在时的加载与覆盖“优先级”（即哪个文件的配置优先胜出）。

• Never allow the demands of tomorrow to take precedence over the needs of today.绝不要让明日的索求优先于今日的需求。

②in order of precedencen.位次；礼宾顺序

Synonymshierarchy, ranking, order

• In true wisdom, virtue takes precedence over rank.在真正的智慧面前，美德高于位阶。

In this sentence

①set / create a precedent (for sth)n.先例；前例

Synonymsantecedent, criterion, exemplar, prior case

原句中实际出现的词是动词 precede（先于……发生），precedent 是其对应的核心同根名词。在此引申学习其最核心的名词用法，表示可作为后事参考或依据的‘前例/先例’。

• Every act of yours sets a precedent for the future.你的每一个举动，都在为未来开创先例。

②without precedentn.史无前例；没有先例

Synonymsunprecedented, unparalleled

• Great discoveries are often made without precedent, guided only by imagination and courage.伟大的发现往往史无前例，唯有想象力与勇气在前方指引。

③precedent to sthadj.在前的；在先的

Synonymsprior, previous, anterior

• Inner clarity is a condition precedent to true wisdom.内心的明澈，是获得真正智慧的前提条件。

①sb's predecessor (in sth)n.前任；前辈

Synonymsforerunner, ancestor, antecedent

• Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers, criticizing its immediate predecessors.每一代人都会反抗父辈，却与祖辈交好，并批判自己的直接前任。— Lewis Mumford

②the predecessor of sthn.（机器、系统等的）前身；原有事物

Synonymsprototype, precursor, antecedent

• Every modern instrument of thought is the refined successor to a cruder predecessor.现代的每一种思维工具，都是对其更为原始的前身的精炼与继承。

①follow / establish a proceduren.（正规的）程序，步骤，手续

Synonymsprocess, routine, protocol

• Success is not an accident. It is the result of a deliberate procedure.成功并非偶然，而是一道深思熟虑的既定程序所结出的果实。

②undergo a medical / surgical proceduren.医疗手术，诊疗手段

Synonymsoperation, surgery, treatment

• Every surgical procedure carries risks, but healing begins the moment we accept the necessity of the cut.每项手术程序都伴随着风险，但当我们接受动刀的必然之痛时，疗愈便已然开始。

①proceed with sthv.继续进行；按计划开展

Synonymscontinue, go ahead, carry on

• Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to proceed with it and make it happen.一旦你做出决定，整个宇宙都会协力推进它，促成其实现。

②proceed to do sthv.接着做；继而做

Synonymsgo on to, continue to

• Men often define what they cannot understand, and then proceed to condemn it.人们往往先对自己无法理解的事物下定义，继而加以谴责。

③proceed to / towards sthv.前往；向……行进

Synonymshead, make one's way, advance

• If you do not change direction, you may proceed towards where you are heading.若不改变方向，你终将走向你正在奔赴的地方。

④proceeds of / from sthn.收益；收入

Synonymsprofits, earnings, revenue

• The best proceeds of wisdom are measured not in gold, but in inner peace.智慧最丰厚的收益无法用黄金衡量，而在于内心的宁静。

①the process of doing sthn.过程；步骤

Synonymsprocedure, course, progression

• Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from the process of your own actions.幸福并非现成之物，它来自于你自身行动的过程。— Dalai Lama

②be in the process of doing sthn.正在进行某事之中

Synonymsunderway, in progress

• We are constantly in the process of becoming who we are destined to be.我们始终在成为注定成为之人的过程之中。

③process sthv.处理，办理；加工

Synonymshandle, deal with, treat

• Nature does not hurry, yet she can process and transform all things into harmony.大自然不疾不徐，却能化育万物，归于和谐。

④process sth (information / emotions)v.理解，消化（信息或情绪）

Synonymsabsorb, digest, comprehend

• The heart needs silence to process what the mind cannot understand.心灵需要静默，方能消化理智所无法参透之物。