fixate

[ fik-seyt ]

/ ˈfɪk seɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fixate ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

to become fixed.

Psychoanalysis. to develop a fixation; suffer an arrest in one's emotional or sexual development.

RELATED WORDS

haunt, obsess, infatuate, direct

Nearby words

fix, fix someone's wagon, fix up, fix-it, fix-up, fixate, fixation, fixation nystagmus, fixation point, fixative, fixator

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

The Republican Party is too fixated on this fiction of electability.
Mike Pence, Dark Horse in Training for 2016|David Freedlander|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For god's sake, Catherine the Great was never this fixated on horses.
Mayor De Blasio’s Horse Policy Is a Pile of Manure|Nick Gillespie|January 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Song is You By Arthur Phillips We know that fans get fixated on their favorite musical stars.
What are the Best Novels on Music?|Ted Gioia|October 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Frustrated by her souring relationship with Salinger, Maynard fixated on the idea of having a daughter.
15 Revelations from New J.D. Salinger Biography|Andrew Romano|September 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Perhaps the police had tunnel vision, fixated from the beginning on the belief that the killers were drug dealers.
How Local Police Missed a Chance to Stop Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011|Michael Daly|July 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The phenomenon appeared only when the illuminated spot had been fixated for an appreciable period of time.
Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1|Various
The eye was first fixated on the light-spot, and then moved horizontally away toward either the right or the left.
Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1|Various
Breuer's first hysterical patient was fixated in the same manner upon the time when she nursed her very sick father.
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis|Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for fixated

fixate

/ (ˈfɪkseɪt) /

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

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

Medicine definitions for fixated

fixate

[ fĭk′sāt′ ]

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.