preoccupation

Bold talk of spreading democracy—more Mr. Bush’s preoccupation than Cheney’s—didn’t survive the second term.

That requires limiting compulsive information seeking and disrupting the social feedback loops that sustain the preoccupation, rather than merely reducing anxiety.

It was one of 10 words on a shortlist to reflect the mood, language and preoccupations of 2025.

Not long ago climate was a bipartisan preoccupation for Mr. Starmer’s Labour Party and the Conservatives; a Tory government introduced a legally binding net-zero target.

Wall Street’s preoccupation with colossal companies shows up in how the indexes perform, too, Colas noted.