fixation

American  

[fik-sey-shuhn] / fɪkˈseɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of fixing or the state of being fixed.

2. 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.

3. Photography. the process of rendering an image permanent by removal of light-sensitive silver halides.

4. 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.

5. a preoccupation with one subject, issue, etc.; obsession.

   All her life she had a fixation on stories of violent death.

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fixation British  

/ fɪkˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of fixing or the state of being fixed

2. a preoccupation or obsession

3. 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

4. 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

5. the reduction of a substance from a volatile or fluid form to a nonvolatile or solid form

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Other Word Forms

• nonfixation noun

Etymology

Origin of fixation

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

Example Sentences

Call it a case of scenario fixation syndrome.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

It became a point of fixation for audiences who'd taken to hyper-analysing actor Jacob Elordi's portrayal of the tortured anti-hero opposite Margot Robbie as his lover Cathy.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

He has performed this exact procedure on dozens of patients, notably those whose symmetry goals have become an obvious fixation.

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026

“Heated Rivalry” — which began as a romance book by the straight novelist Rachel Reid before being adapted for the screen by gay showrunner Jacob Tierney— is my latest fixation.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

She’d never even imagined doing it herself, and for all of her sister’s fixation on kissing, she’d never imagined her doing it, either.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• fascination
• infatuation
• preoccupation