Meaning & use
focussed
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“focussed” is a form of “focus”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivecomparableBritish
Giving all your attention or effort to one thing, a spelling used mainly in British English.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a focussed student, she stayed focussed.
Patterns
- focussed on something
The focussed team finished the project early.
Stay focussed on the exam and ignore the noise.
She gave a calm, focussed answer.
verbtransitive or intransitiveBritish
Past tense and past participle of focus, spelled with a double s in British English.
Grammar: The American spelling is focused.
Patterns
- focussed on something
The lecturer focussed on the early years of the war.
He focussed the camera before the shot.
Word forms
| base form | focus |
|---|---|
| third person singular | focuses |
| -ing form | focusing |
| American spelling | focused |
Common combinations
- stay focussed
- It is hard to stay focussed on a long journey.
- remain focussed
- The team remained focussed on the target.
- focussed attention
- The job needs focussed attention.
- highly focussed
- She is a highly focussed athlete.
- focussed on
- We were focussed on the final exam.
Synonyms and how they differ
- focused
- Focused is the standard American spelling and also widely used in British English.
- concentrated
- Concentrated suggests attention gathered strongly, often for a short task.
- determined
- Determined stresses resolve rather than attention.
- single-minded
- Single-minded suggests following a goal so strictly that nothing else counts.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: focussed or focused?
focussed vs focused
Both spellings are acceptable in British English, but American English uses focused only.
Practice
In American English, the usual spelling of 'focussed' is ___.
Choose one answer.
American English writes focused with one s; focussed is the British variant. The other options are misspellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “focussed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.