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fixation

[ fik-sey-shuhn ]
/ fÉȘkˈseÉȘ ʃən /
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noun
the act of fixing or the state of being fixed.
Chemistry.
  1. reduction from a volatile or fluid to a stable or solid form.
  2. the process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into a useful compound, as a nitrate fertilizer.
Photography. the process of rendering an image permanent by removal of light-sensitive silver halides.
Psychoanalysis. a partial arrest of emotional and instinctual development at an early point in life, due to a severe traumatic experience or an overwhelming gratification.
a preoccupation with one subject, issue, etc.; obsession: All her life she had a fixation on stories of violent death.
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Origin of fixation

1350–1400; Middle English fixacion<Medieval Latin fixātiƍn- (stem of fixātiƍ) a reduction to a fixed state. See fix, -ation

OTHER WORDS FROM fixation

non·fix·a·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fixation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fixation

fixation
/ (fÉȘkˈseÉȘʃən) /

noun
the act of fixing or the state of being fixed
a preoccupation or obsession
psychol
  1. the act of fixating
  2. (in psychoanalytical schools) a strong attachment of a person to another person or an object in early life
chem
  1. the conversion of nitrogen in the air into a compound, esp a fertilizer
  2. the conversion of a free element into one of its compounds
the reduction of a substance from a volatile or fluid form to a nonvolatile or solid form
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
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