Synonyms

fixate

American

[fik-seyt] / ˈfɪk seɪt /

verb (used without object)

fixated, fixating

to obsessively concentrate one's attention (usually followed byon ).

Take something away from someone completely and they may fixate on it.
Psychoanalysis. to develop a fixation; suffer an arrest in one's emotional or sexual development.

The patient fixates in an incestuous libido cycle, seeking to reconnect with an earlier aspect of her history.
to stabilize or become fixed.
to focus the eyes on an object or point.

verb (used with object)

fixated, fixating

to obsessively concentrate one's attention on.
Psychoanalysis. to cause (one's psychosexual development) to be arrested at an early point in life.
to make stable or stationary; fix.

Using cement to fixate the cap on the head of the femur, while initially adding stability, has a chance of loosening in subsequent years.
1. to focus (the eyes) on an object or point.
  
  The eye muscles ordinarily fixate the two eyes on a single target.
2. to focus the eyes on (an object).

fixate British

/ ˈfɪkseɪt /

verb

to become or cause to become fixed
to direct the eye or eyes at a point in space so that the image of the point falls on the centre (fovea) of the eye or eyes
psychol to engage in fixation
informal (tr; usually passive) to obsess or preoccupy

"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

Etymology

Origin of fixate

First recorded in 1880–85; from Latin fix(us) “fixed, firm” ( fix ) + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was fixated on my getting a job after school.

From MarketWatch

So why are we suddenly fixated on them?

From The Wall Street Journal

The case began in February 2025, when Anguiano saw the victim at her workplace and became fixated on her, according to the district attorney’s statement.

From Los Angeles Times

She’s waiting for me to answer, and meanwhile I’m fixated on the way she pronounced his first name.

From Literature

Traders and analysts are fixated on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage between Iran and Oman through which 20% of the world’s oil typically flows.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023