The word "preoccupy" is a correct and usable word in written English.
You can use it to describe a situation in which someone is so engrossed in a concern that they are unable to think of anything else. For example, "His thoughts were preoccupied by the upcoming meeting."
The exact alchemy by which so much economic lead is turned into political gold will preoccupy future PhD theses and coalition biographies; but, on a day filled with as much hot air as this one, let me just point out that it goes on.
Changes that preoccupy some women – such as funding for the NHS – may not hold very much immediate interest for others.
Recovery has been much slower and much more uneven than most forecasts had suggested at the beginning of this year, and opinion polls during the election showed that economic worries at home preoccupy Americans more than the prospect of war with Iraq.
These material worries preoccupy them much more than ethnic grudges or the desire to reconquer territory they believe their nation has lost to a neighbour.
11.25 India Standard Time.Explaining the BJP landslide will now preoccupy analysts and pundits, as we wait for solid news in the coming days, such as the swearing in of ministers.
The hope is that, with so much else to preoccupy it, its leaders will enjoy the smoother relations and not ask where they are leading.Economist.com/blogs/banyan Correction: An earlier version of this article had some of its numbers wrong.
Bagehot cannot recall a single doubt expressed from the Conservative frontbench at the time about Saddam Hussein's destructive arsenal or the legal basis for going to war, the two issues that preoccupy Mr Howard now.
Divvying up such spoils will doubtless preoccupy the other generals for some time to come.Another of Mr Khin Nyunt's responsibilities was to handle relations with the 17 former insurgent groups with which he had previously brokered informal ceasefires.
And third, that governments will therefore be tempted into inflation or devaluation as a way of softening the blow.The final two concerns mainly preoccupy countries that owe their debt to foreigners.
Immigrants have a chance, he says, "when they not only live in Europe but become European".Neukölln may be untypical, but it raises questions that preoccupy the whole country.
These offer better prospects than staple cereals, like wheat and rice, which preoccupy policymakers.
