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fixative

[ fik-suh-tiv ]

adjective

  1. serving to fix; making fixed fix or permanent.


noun

  1. a fixative substance, as a gummy liquid sprayed on a drawing to prevent blurring, or a solution for killing, hardening, and preserving material for microscopic study.
  2. Also called fixer. Photography. a chemical substance, as sodium thiosulfate, used to promote fixation.
  3. a substance that retards evaporation, as in the manufacture of perfume.

fixative

/ ˈfɪksətɪv /

adjective

  1. serving or tending to fix
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a fluid usually consisting of a transparent resin, such as shellac, dissolved in alcohol and sprayed over drawings to prevent smudging
  2. cytology a fluid, such as formaldehyde or ethanol, that fixes tissues and cells for microscopic study
  3. a substance added to a liquid, such as a perfume, to make it less volatile
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Words From

  • un·fixa·tive adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fixative1

First recorded in 1635–45; fix + -ative
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Example Sentences

Those prospective jurors who weren’t chosen to judge Trump spoke with reporters and told us of their fixative interest in seeing a man who causes visceral reactions, both good and bad, from so many people.

From Salon

Whale oil was in frenzied demand as fuel and lubricant, and ambergris, a byproduct of the animal’s digestive process, as a fixative for perfumes.

Two teeth showed evidence of sclareolide, a compound found in Salvia plants that has antibacterial and antifungal properties, and is currently used as an aroma fixative in the perfume industry.

A plant called jara, cleared by farmers as a weed, was what scent makers call a “fixative,” used to slow the rate of evaporation.

The homework assignment for my digital photography class involved making a cyanotype, a 19th-century developing process that produces prints using sun and water as a fixative.

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