preoccupation

n. being lost in thought, being occupied with meditations; obsession, fixation; thought that is constantly on one's mind; previous appropriation, prior tenure or possession

Noun
1. an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention
(hypernym) idea, thought
(hyponym) obsession, fixation
(derivation) preoccupy
2. the mental state of being preoccupied by something
(synonym) preoccupancy, absorption, engrossment
(hypernym) cognitive state, state of mind
(hyponym) abstractedness, abstraction
(derivation) preoccupy
3. the act of taking occupancy before someone else does
(synonym) preoccupancy
(hypernym) occupation, occupancy, taking possession, moving in
(derivation) preoccupy

n. preoccupation, concern, worry

(n.)
The act of preoccupying, or taking possession of beforehand; the state of being preoccupied; prepossession.
  

(n.)
Anticipation of objections.
  

Synonyms and related words:
Walter Mitty, absence of mind, absentmindedness, absorbed attention, absorption, abstractedness, abstraction, abulia, adoption, adverse possession, alienation, alodium, anxiety, anxiety equivalent, anxiety state, apathy, application, appropriation, arrogation, assiduity, assiduousness, assumption, bemusement, brown study, bulldog tenacity, burgage, castle-building, catatonic stupor, claim, close study, colonization, colony, complex, compulsion, concentration, conquest, constancy, contemplation, contemplativeness, daydream, daydreamer, daydreaming, de facto, de jure, deep study, deep thought, dejection, dependency, depression, depth of thought, derivative title, detachment, diligence, dogged perseverance, doggedness, dream, dreaming, elation, emotionalism, endurance, engagement, engrossment, enslavement, euphoria, fantasy, fantasying, fascination, fee fief, fee position, fee simple, fee simple absolute, fee simple conditional, fee simple defeasible, fee simple determinable, fee tail, feodum, feud, fidelity, fiefdom, fit of abstraction, fixation, fixed idea, folie du doute, frankalmoign, free socage, freehold, gavelkind, hang-up, having title to, hold, holding, hypercathexis, hypochondria, hysteria, hysterics, idee fixe, immersion, indefatigability, indent, indifference, industriousness, industry, insensibility, insistence, insistency, intentness, involvement, irresistible impulse, knight service, lay fee, lease, leasehold, legal claim, legal possession, lethargy, loyalty, mandate, mania, meditation, melancholia, melancholy, mental distress, monomania, mooning, moonraking, morbid drive, muse, musefulness, musing, muted ecstasy, obsession, obsessive compulsion, obstinacy, occupancy, occupation, original title, owning, pathological indecisiveness, patience, patience of Job, pensiveness, permanence, perseverance, persistence, persistency, pertinaciousness, pertinacity, pipe dream, pipe-dreaming, plodding, plugging, possessing, possession, preemption, preoccupancy, prepossession, prescription, profound thought, property, property rights, proprietary rights, psychalgia, psychomotor disturbance, rapt attention, reflectiveness, relentlessness, requisition, resolution, reverie, ruling passion, sedulity, sedulousness, seisin, single-mindedness, singleness of purpose, slogging, socage, speculativeness, squatting, stability, stamina, stargazing, staying power, steadfastness, steadiness, stick-to-itiveness, stubbornness, studiousness, study, stupor, subjugation, sublease, submersion, takeover, taking over, tenaciousness, tenacity, tenancy, tenantry, tenure, tenure in chivalry, thoughtfulness, tic, tirelessness, title, trance, twitching, underlease, undertenancy, unremittingness, unresponsiveness, unswerving attention, usucapion, usurpation, villein socage, villeinhold, villenage, wistfulness, withdrawal, woolgathering