fixated

American  

[fik-sey-tid] / ˈfɪk seɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. Psychoanalysis. arrested in emotional or sexual development.

   To me, he still seems stuck at the stage of an orally fixated toddler.

2. fastened or held in one place.

   An unstable dislocation, often due to loose ligaments, is more problematic than the fixated type of joint dislocation.

3. aimed or directed in one place.

   He looked up at me with the fixated stare of a strangled fish.

4. focused on by the eyes.

   Given a constant distance between the two eyes, the location of the fixated point, where the lines of sight of the two eyes meet, can be computed.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of fixate.

Other Word Forms

• unfixated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of fixated

fixate + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

We spend so much time consumed by the now, and when we’re not, we’re fixated on the future and its glaring unpredictability.

From Salon • May 25, 2026

Where he was fixated on his material’s enduring properties and its resistance to manipulation, she is focused on the ethereal nature of things—even things as permanent as steel.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Until now, Schoenbrun has specialized in stories about pop-cultural disassociation, people so isolated by their niche fandoms that they spend more time fixated on fictional characters than living their own lives.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

Since the start of 2026, the White House ballroom has become a topic Trump is so fixated with that he can’t seem to stop talking about it.

From Slate • Apr. 30, 2026

Coal was fixated on all the ways their plan could go wrong.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

• captivated
• dominated
• haunted
• preoccupied
• troubled