besetment

The man's abiding obsession -- if we may call his besetment thus -- changed in practically all essential regards the manners and the practices of his daily life.

The Best Short Stories of 1921 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story Various 1915

The man's abiding obsession -- if we may call his besetment thus -- changed in practically all essential regards the manners and the practices of his daily life.

Sundry Accounts 1910

In the mean time the wind had been driving the ice so fast off the land as to form for us a clear communication with the open water before seen to the eastward; and thus we were at length liberated from our confinement, after a close and tedious "besetment" of twenty-four days.

Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 2 William Edward Parry 1822

"besetment," for, in fact, it was now nothing more.

Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1 William Edward Parry 1822

-- This morning I felt great power in prayer, and an ardent desire for full deliverance from every besetment.

Religion in Earnest A Memorial of Mrs. Mary Lyth, of York John Lyth

He wrote to a friend, the author of "Edge Hill," in Richmond, that he had quite overcome "the seductive and dangerous besetment" by which he had so often been prostrated, and to another friend that, incredible as it might seem, he had become a "model of temperance," and of "other virtues," which it had sometimes been difficult for him to practice.

International Miscellany of Literature, Art and Science, Vol. 1, No. 3, Oct. 1, 1850 Various

On one occasion, when this had been the case, he retired to a secluded spot, under a hedge, where, with many tears, he poured forth his prayers for deliverance from this besetment.

The Annual Monitor for 1851 or, Obituary of the members of the Society of Friends in Great Britain and Ireland, for the year 1850 Anonymous

He made every effort to shake off this new besetment, this fresh assault upon the tranquility he had attained.

The Hidden Places Bertrand W. Sinclair 1926

It is a strong enclosure, an invincible ring, a grand besetment within which we move in restful security.

The Silver Lining: Messages of Hope and Cheer 1817-1893 1907

Such is the idea of “besetment” which lies in this familiar word “rock.”

The Silver Lining: Messages of Hope and Cheer 1817-1893 1907