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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.

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

People who have been extremely successful have often been reinforced with the fixed idea that they are good and they are special.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2016

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.