fixate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to obsessively concentrate one's attention (usually followed byon ).
Take something away from someone completely and they may fixate on it.
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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.
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to stabilize or become fixed.
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to focus the eyes on an object or point.
verb (used with object)
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to obsessively concentrate one's attention on.
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Psychoanalysis. to cause (one's psychosexual development) to be arrested at an early point in life.
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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.
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to focus (the eyes) on an object or point.
The eye muscles ordinarily fixate the two eyes on a single target.
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to focus the eyes on (an object).
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verb
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to become or cause to become fixed
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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
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psychol to engage in fixation
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informal (tr; usually passive) to obsess or preoccupy
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fixatesimple
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fixatessimple
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have fixatedperfect
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has fixatedperfect
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am fixatingprogressive
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are fixatingprogressive
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is fixatingprogressive
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have been fixatingperfect progressive
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has been fixatingperfect progressive
Past
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fixatedsimple
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had fixatedperfect
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was fixatingprogressive
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were fixatingprogressive
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had been fixatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fixate
First recorded in 1880–85; from Latin fix(us) “fixed, firm” ( see fix) + -ate 1
Explanation
If you fixate on something, you become overly focused on it or attached to it. Don't fixate on your grades — try to enjoy the process of learning! While the original 19th century meaning of fixate was "make stable," it soon came to mean "gaze upon." It was Sigmund Freud who shifted the definition to something more obsessive. His theories of psychoanalysis included the concept of fixation, an unhealthy attachment to something or someone — and fixate followed. You can fixate on small things (like a stain on your sweater) or big things (like world poverty).
Vocabulary lists containing fixate
Pride
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The Prince and the Dressmaker
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As Brave as You
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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.
See Examples For:
McGinn himself was in no doubt that he was fouled by Neil El Aynaoui, but insists Scotland cannot fixate on refereeing calls.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
It produces forecasts that markets fixate on and that box the committee in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
“His decisions at trial,” his lawyers argue, were “based on fear and paranoia rather than rational thinking; he would fixate on small details, while missing the big picture.”
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Instead of getting bogged down on the day-to-day of your job, and your growing disgust for it, fixate on your bigger purpose, said Nancy Ancowitz, a career strategist, and do something to nourish that.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
The Weirdos could be counted on to chew bits of their own stringy hair and fixate, non-blinking, on a dirt spot on the carpeting while a fire blazed right behind them.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
At Harvard, Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg fixates on the exclusive final clubs that won’t quite accept him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
As a head coach who fixates on squad togetherness, was there a worry that having such a high-profile player on the margins might lead Alexander-Arnold to provide an unintentional distraction and focus of attention?
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
He fixates on bright, blinding objects while turning away from self-reflection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Here I'm speaking of those who really embrace white nationalism, which fixates obsessively on Jews in well-documented and terribly dangerous ways.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2023
Cain’s whole body goes still as he fixates on Zak.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
With Argentina in the semi-finals, a team that have shown vulnerabilities out wide, he will undoubtedly remain fixated on getting his wide triangles to work.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
I’ve always wondered why I’ve fixated on this detail of Trump’s personal canon.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Much of the pre-debut coverage has fixated on Walker’s “leap” to comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
But it’s possible to become overly fixated on audits, Sepp said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
He called Burnham a “colossal merchandiser” fixated on building the biggest, tallest, costliest structures.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The content suggested he was watching all of her appearances, fixating on what she was wearing, what she was saying, what she was doing.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
Rather than fixating on Jefferson’s quill scratches, Mr. Amar illuminates how this equality ethos resonated with America’s most profound thinkers—from the fiery eloquence of Frederick Douglass to the unyielding advocacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Jackson charged Gorsuch with disregarding “the clear design of the ADA” by fixating on “one isolated provision” and detaching it “from its place in the overall scheme.”
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2025
But instead of fixating on what Tinsley and Terry hadn’t done, coach Kelly Inouye-Perez chose to remember what she had already watched them do.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2024
Dill studied the carpet for a moment, fixating on the discolored patch that sometimes caught his eye while he sat playing his guitar.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
