In a behavioral parallel to the musical fastidiousness of his later period, he brushed his teeth and washed repeatedly, often for hours a day.

I do remember, as a boy, catching my father repeatedly washing his hands, then seeing him struggle to turn off the bathroom light with his elbow to avoid germs.

And in order to ease that fear, you repeatedly wash your hands.

"Scientific studies show that if you wash repeatedly, especially with an antibacterial soap, this will reduce mosquito biting," Dr. Zwiebel said.

In Utah he applied makeup to Melissa Smith's lifeless face, and he repeatedly washed Laura Aime's hair.

The term was coined by Dr. William Alexander Hammond in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands.

His enthusiasm for cleaning prompted him to repeatedly wash his clothes and dishes, an obsession that has meant big detergent bills.

With a grapple and a line we could have saved it, for the waves repeatedly washed it within cast, but they as often took it back.

One example is an excessive fear of germs and the compulsion to repeatedly wash the hands to ward off infection.

One may repeatedly wash hands or other body parts, sometimes for hours, to ensure cleanliness.