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Synonyms

fixed idea

American  

noun

  1. a persistent or obsessing idea, often delusional, that can, in extreme form, be a symptom of psychosis.


fixed idea British  

noun

  1. Also: idée fixe.  an idea, esp one of an obsessional nature, that is persistently maintained and not subject to change

"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

Etymology

Origin of fixed idea

First recorded in 1820–30

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:

Getting a new view on someone I had such a fixed idea of who or want he was, and this is a way of understanding that.

From Salon Jul. 6, 2023

But “love of my life” is a fixed idea, and people are fluid, updating themselves over time.

From Washington Post Jan. 10, 2023

"Picasso had sketches he didn't sell and weren't as popular as other things. Every artist has an audience for different things they do, so there's no fixed idea of what success is."

From Los Angeles Times May 18, 2018

So why should anybody get particularly exercised by the Journal’s latest incarnation of this fixed idea, in the form of an extended essay by Steve Koonin?

From Slate Oct. 1, 2014

R. M. Renfield, ætat 59.—Sanguine temperament; great physical strength; morbidly excitable; periods of gloom, ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

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