verb (used with object), fix·at·ed, fix·at·ing. to fix ; make stable or stationary. verb (used without object), fix·at·ed, fix·at·ing. Psychoanalysis to develop a fixation ; suffer an arrest in one's emotional or sexual development. Origin of fixate 1880–85; <
Latin fix(us ) fixed, firm (see
fix ) +
-ate1 Related forms un·fix·at·ed , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for fixated Contemporary Examples of fixated The Republican Party is too fixated on this fiction of electability.
For god's sake, Catherine the Great was never this fixated on horses.
The Song is You By Arthur Phillips We know that fans get fixated on their favorite musical stars.
A convex lens is fixated on a slanted ceiling emanating a faint amount of soft white light.
Frustrated by her souring relationship with Salinger, Maynard fixated on the idea of having a daughter.
Historical Examples of fixated The eye was first fixated on the light-spot, and then moved horizontally away toward either the right or the left.
The phenomenon appeared only when the illuminated spot had been fixated for an appreciable period of time.
Breuer's first hysterical patient was fixated in the same manner upon the time when she nursed her very sick father.
British Dictionary definitions for fixated 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
(tr; usually passive) informal to obsess or preoccupy
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Word Origin for fixate C19: from Latin fixus fixed + -ate 1
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
Word Origin and History for fixated v. 1885, "to fix, make stable," from fix (v.) + -ate . Meaning "to gaze upon" is from 1889. Psychological sense is from 1926, originally in Freudian theory, in this case perhaps a back-formation from fixation . Related: Fixated ; fixating .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
v. To make fixed, stable, or stationary.
To focus one's eyes or attention on something.
To develop a fixation; become excessively attached to a person or thing.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
