fixate
Americanverb (used without object)
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fixates,
present (3rd person singular)
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fixated,
past participle, past
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fixating
present participle
-
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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fixates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fixated,
past participle, past
-
fixating
present participle
-
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:
But Diarra’s tendency to fixate on small details and slights eventually cracked the case.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
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
When they struggle, fathers can fixate on testosterone because that’s what modern culture tells them will make them feel better.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
My nose inhales the aroma and my eyes fixate on the yellow ears.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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
Basch argued that the argument over fluoridation today often fixates on communal water sources, and has similarities with other public health fracases.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2022
Still, Muritiba understands that any portrait of masculinity that fixates too intensely on the cruelties and self-denials of machista culture are futile.
From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2022
She fixates on me, waiting for me to meet her gaze.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
The president is also fixated on America’s trade deficit, which is the dollar figure in goods that the U.S. exports to a particular country minus what it imports.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
GM executives—and the broader industry—were long fixated on that market share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The experience showed her “there is demand for presenting yourself virtually and there’s a way to convey your cover-letter materials” that can get past new filters for job applications, which are fixated on certain keywords.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Studios have become fixated on hunting down every short film, internet meme and indie video game with the potential to “put something new and fresh on the screen,” Lee said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Better still, 83 percent of all preschoolers fixated on the letters in a left-to-right sequence — mimicking, in other words, the actual reading process.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Like I said, it’s OK to look back and wish you had done some things differently, but fixating on the past isn’t always helpful.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
But perhaps there is something in the idea of, instead of fixating on the rollercoaster of symptoms, considering the bigger picture.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 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
We jump from one of these chunks to another, pausing — or fixating — on them long enough to make sense of each letter.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
