fixate
Americanverb (used without object)
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fixates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fixated,
past participle, past
-
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)
-
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.
-
-
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
-
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
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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:
As a result, investors shouldn’t solely fixate on the possibility of an AI slowdown.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
This level of detail is the essence of his songwriting—by singling out the character actor from films like “Contact” and “Armageddon,” he shows how we fixate on ephemera as a way of avoiding existential terror.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
But Diarra’s tendency to fixate on small details and slights eventually cracked the case.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
But rather than fixate on that, might we suggest a few reads about all the joys available to us in this world?
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
And I know it’s just texts, and it’s a weird thing to fixate on.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Have any of your readers dealt with a parent in early dementia or Alzheimer’s who fixates on an old slight and reignites the conflict like it happened yesterday?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
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
Cain’s whole body goes still as he fixates on Zak.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
"Current pain medicine is fixated on ridding patients of their pain symptoms, but that's not the source of chronic pain. These data suggest that a chronic pain flare also encompasses one's identity."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
In particular, Kroger is now fixated on offering low prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It’s natural for investors to be fixated on companies that dominate their industries, but smaller rivals can often offer better value, according to Charles Lemonides, the founder of ValueWorks.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
He was arrested and pleaded guilty to harassing Banks, who he claimed to have become fixated on as a result of internal Labour Party fall-outs while suffering from severe mental health problems.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
The part about Rosa and the River Run doesn’t actually sink in because she’s completely fixated on Gavin.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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
You may snigger that the fluffy haired and sequin-loving singer-songwriter is a cheesy anti-poet, fixating on such mortal lines as “No one heard at all, not even the chair.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
As they’ve done all year, they’re embracing this opportunity for history without fixating on the reward that awaits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
I walked to the front of the room, knowing everyone was staring at me, but fixating on the problem ahead of me.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
