fixate

verb

fix·​ate ˈfik-ˌsāt 

fixated; fixating

transitive verb

1

: to make fixed, stationary, or unchanging

2

: to focus one's gaze on

3

: to direct (the libido) toward an infantile form of gratification

intransitive verb

1

: to focus or concentrate one's gaze or attention intently or obsessively

2

: to undergo arrestment at a stage of development

Examples of fixate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Embracing a worldview of a great-power competition, the Trump and Biden administrations and much of the U.S. foreign policy establishment are fixated on reducing China’s presence and influence around the world. —Nancy Okail, Foreign Affairs, 3 Dec. 2024

And some people choose to fixate on some of those things. —EW.com, 2 Dec. 2024

Federal rules for autonomous vehicles – which Musk is fixated on with his plans for a robotaxi business – could become more favorable to the billionaire in the new Trump administration. —Alan Ohnsman, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024

Goldin’s show there, a traveling version of a survey featuring her photographs and films, has become a source of controversy in the German press, which has fixated on her signature of a letter published in Artforum last year that called for a ceasefire in Gaza. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 22 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably back-formation from fixation, in part as translation of German fixieren

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Medical Definition

fixate

verb

fix·​ate ˈfik-ˌsāt 

fixated; fixating

transitive verb

1

: to focus one's gaze on

2

: to direct (the libido) toward an infantile form of gratification

intransitive verb

1

: to focus or concentrate one's gaze or attention

an infant with normal vision … will fixate on a light held before him

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

2

: to undergo arrestment at a stage of development